Cambridge University Researchers Develop and Administer Lab-developed Red Blood Cells in Clinical Study with Promising Results for the Blood Supply

Sickle cell patients and others who need long-term blood transfusions provided by clinical laboratories and others would benefit most from successfully lab-grown blood Administering lab-developed red blood cells in humans in a clinical study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) is being hailed as a significant step forward in efforts to supplement the supply of whole blood through the development of synthetic blood products. Of interest to those clinical laboratory managers overseeing hospital...

New CRISPR Gene-editing Approach Under Development at Broad Institute Could Lead to Improved Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics for Genetic Diseases

‘Prime editing’ is what researchers are calling the proof-of-concept research that promises improved diagnostics and more effective treatments for patients with genetic defects What if it were possible to edit genetic code and literally remove a person’s risk for specific chronic diseases? Such a personalized approach to treating at-risk patients would alter all of healthcare and is at the core of precision medicine goals. Well, thanks to researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard,...

CRISPR-Cas9 DNA Editing Possibly Linked to Cancer, But CRISPR-Cas13d RNA Editing Could Offer New Avenues for Treatment

CRISPR-Cas9 connection to cancer prompts research to investigate different approaches to gene editing Dark Daily has covered CRISPR-Cas9 many times in previous e-briefings. Since its discovery, CRISPR, or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, has been at the root of astonishing breakthroughs in genetic research. It appears to fulfill precision medicine goals for patients with conditions caused by genetic mutations and has anatomic pathologists, along with the entire...

More Insurers Willing to Cover Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) in a Trend That Creates New Opportunities for Clinical Pathology Laboratories to Add Value

Most insurers still determine coverage on a case-by-case basis, but two major payers now have coverage policies that are helpful to clinical labs that perform WES Whole exome sequencing (WES) is not new for clinical pathologists, but it is becoming more common in a clinical setting as more physicians learn about its uses. This is due to two reasons. First, researchers are identifying new ways to use whole exome sequencing to improve patient care. Second, the cost of whole genome sequencing...

UCLA Researchers Develop Lens-Free Smartphone Microscope, Pathologists May Be Able to Take the Clinical Pathology Laboratory Just About Anywhere

In a trial, the lens-free microscope invention from the UCLA California Nano Systems Institute enabled a board-certified pathologist to detect cancers and other cellular abnormalities at 99% accuracy One of our favorite innovators is at it again, this time with a device that could eventually allow pathologists to use a device coupled with a smartphone to view cancer and other abnormalities at the cellular level. At UCLA, Professor Aydogan Ozcan, Ph.D. is already well known for having invented...
;