Daily Archives: May 4, 2023

A critical vulnerability, with the highest possible CVSS score of 10, was discovered in Illumina's genome sequencing tool that allows an adversary to remotely upload and execution code on targeted systems.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) both issued alerts urging network admin to apply available patches.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) both issued alerts urging network admin to apply available patches. The bug was found in Illumina's Universal Copy Service function. According to researchers, the bug (CVE-2023-1968) can be exploited remotely and is easy to trigger with a "low attack complexity."

The CVE carries a CVSS v3 score: 10.0 is one of two bugs found within the platform. The second bug, tracked as CVE-2023-1966, carries a CVSS v3 score of7.4 and considered a high risk.

"Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to take any action at the operating system level. A threat actor could impact settings, configurations, software, or data on the affected product; a threat actor could interact through the affected product via a connected network," according to the CISA alert.

The two bugs are a binding to an unrestricted IP address flaw and an execution with unnecessary privileges and found in versions of iScan Control Software, iSeq 100, MiniSeq, MiSeqDX, NextSeq, and NovaSeq products. These tools perform various next-gen sequencing, as well as bioinformatics.

According to the FDA, these are medical devices for either research use or clinical diagnostic use for the sequencing of individuals DNA for genetic conditions.

The critical flaws are tied to the universal copy service function v2.x of the platform, which copies the sequencing output files from the devices run folder to the output folder. However, its bound to an unrestricted IP address, which could allow an unauthenticated attacker to use the UCS to listen on all IP addresses, including those that accept remote communications.

Meanwhile, the unnecessary privileges vulnerability ranked 7.4 in severity is found in instruments leveraging both v1.x and v2.x platforms. The flaw could enable an unauthenticated threat actor to remotely upload and execute code at the operating system level, allow them to change settings, configurations and software, or even access sensitive information.

The FDA warns an attacker would not need to gain credentials to remotely deploy malicious activities, including the possible alteration of data contained on both the instrument or customers networks. An exploit could also impact the result of genetic data contained on the instruments, leading the instruments to provide no results, incorrect results, altered results, or a potential data breach.

At this time, the FDA and Illumina have not received any reports indicating this vulnerability has been exploited, according to the alert.

Illumina reported the vulnerability to CISA and created guidance for system users based on specific configurations to mitigate the impact. The company has already developed a software patch to protect against exploit.

The FDA is urging providers and laboratory personnel to be aware of the required actions to mitigate these cybersecurity risks. For many of the impacted devices, configuration is recommended for the UCS account credentials, while other systems software will need to be updated.

Illumina also created instructional videos for clients, which is protected from external access by the use of credentials. The company directly sent notices about the vulnerabilities to users earlier this month, urging them to look out for signs of exploit on the impacted devices.

Fortunately, there have been no public exploits reported targeting these flaws. But as that can quickly change given the state of the threat landscape, CISA recommends network defenders take defensive measures to minimize the risk of exploit, including minimizing the exposure for all control systems and devices and preventing access from the internet.

Virtual Private Networks should be used when remote access is required or another secure method. But VPNs come with their own vulnerabilities, so defenders should ensure the tools are updated to the most current version to reduce possible risks.

Follow this link:
Critical bug in genome sequencing device scores '10' on CVSS ratings - SC Media

All human beings are genetically very similar, sharing approx. 99.9% of the DNA code. The remaining 0.1% explains the natural differences between people, including our predisposition to hereditary diseases. Although sequencing of our genetic material is becoming a routine diagnostic analysis, it is unfortunately far from simple to determine whether specific small differences in our DNA affect our risk of developing disease. The usefulness of DNA sequencing is therefore often limited to the few cases where it is already known if a gene variant increases the risk of disease.

Researchers at the Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, have now contributed to solving this problem for a specific gene calledGCK. The study has just been published inGenome Biology.

Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen, Professor at the Department of Biology, explains:

- TheGCKgene, which codes for the enzyme glucokinase, regulates the secretion of insulin in the pancreas.GCKgene variants can therefore cause a form of hereditary diabetes. Although the connection betweenGCKand diabetes has been known for several years, we have, until now, only known the effect of a few percent of the possible variants of this gene.

Subscribe to Technology Networks daily newsletter, delivering breaking science news straight to your inbox every day.

Together with colleagues at the PRISM centre, UCPH, who are currently studying the effects of genetic variations, the researchers measured the effect of all of the possible variants ofGCK.

PhD student Sarah Gersing, who is the first author of the article, explains:

- We used yeast cells to measure the activity of over 9000 differentGCKvariants. In this way, we were able to generate a list of the effects both of already known variants, but also of variants that patients might carry, but that have not yet been discovered. This provides us with a reference for futureGCKdiagnostics.

Prof. Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, who heads the PRISM centre, continues:

- Our results are quite unique; not only have we measured the effect of several thousand variants, but for many of the variants, we can now explain what they do to the glucokinase protein. In our centre, we have gathered researchers working across a range of research fields, bridging from data analysis and biophysics to cell biology and medicine, and it is now clear how this broad approach pays off in explaining how diseases arise.

Gene variants ofGCKcan, among other things, cause a form of hereditary diabetes called "GCK maturity onset diabetes of the young" (GCK-MODY).

Professor of genetics, dr. med. Torben Hansen, who is also a member of the PRISM centre, says: - "Although GCK-MODY patients exhibit elevated blood glucose levels, this is often not associated with complications. Hence, unlike other forms of diabetes, most GCK-MODY patients might therefore not need to be treated with medication. However, due to missing or inaccurate genetic data, more than half of the GCK-MODY patients are classified with having either type 1 or type 2 diabetes and are therefore unnecessarily medicated. We estimate that approx. 1% of those who have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in Denmark have a variant in theGCKgene, meaning that they dont need treatment, or need to be treated differently. Our new map ofGCKvariants can hopefully help give these patients a more correct diagnosis.

The next step for PRISM is to transfer these methods to other genes and diseases.

- "We are already well underway with genes involved in e.g., neurodegenerative diseases, and we are trying to develop precise methods that can provide us with insights on disease mechanisms", says Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen.

Kresten Lindorff-Larsen continues:

- "Our data gives us the opportunity to test and develop computational models for variant effects, which will then be transferable to other genes and diseases."

- Now, we have measured the effects of almost all variants ofGCK, giving us knowledge on which variants that function, and which that do not. The next step is to understand why, and how the same underlying molecular mechanisms can give rise to a wide range of different diseases", concludes Sarah Gersing.

Reference:Gersing S, Cagiada M, Gebbia M, et al. A comprehensive map of human glucokinase variant activity. Genome Biol. 2023;24(1):97. doi:10.1186/s13059-023-02935-8

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Visit link:
Novel Genomic Approach Ensures Better Diagnosis of Hereditary ... - Technology Networks

Intellia Therapeutics: Revolutionary Genome Editing Techniques

Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA), the clinical stage genome editing company, is all set to release its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, May 4th. This Boston-based biotech firm engages in developing curative therapeutics that fix disease-associated genes with a single treatment.

What sets Intellia apart from others in the field is their revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 system. Using a highly advanced gene editing technology, Intellia creates engineered cells, which help treat oncological and immunological diseases. The capability of CRISPR/Cas to permanently edit or correct disease-associated genes apply to patients for their lifetime, requiring no repeated dosing.

BMO Capital Markets upgraded Intellia from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in March of 2017. Notably, William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of Intellia in late March. As per reports, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Intellias price target from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in early January of this year.

Citigroup also provided support by upgrading Intellia from a sell rating to a neutral rating while dropping its price target for the firm from $48.00 to $39.00 in late January 2017. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased its price target on NTLA from $115.00 to $93.00 but gave it an outperform rating in late February based on current economic growth indicators.

All told, one equities research analyst gave the stock a sell-rating while three have issued hold ratings throughout 2016-17 period when these analyses were conducted by various firms. Overall, sixteen analysts rated the stock as buy. Data from Bloomberg reveals its consensus target price is $85.67 and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy.

Intellias gene-editing techniques have several utilities in healthcare, including basic research in genetics, cell-line engineering for producing beneficial proteins, development of advanced gene therapies and improving agriculture for food production.

We look forward to Intellias earnings data later this week to inform us further as to how very clear evidence suggests a burgeoning realm of opportunities.

Intellia Therapeutics Inc.s latest earnings report released on February 23rd, 2021, showed a quarter full of ups and downs for the biotechnology company. The report revealed that Intellia posted ($1.40) per share earnings for Q4, meeting the consensus estimate of ($1.40), while accumulating an impressive revenue of $13.60 million compared to analysts expectations of $10.71 million.

Despite Q4s net profit taking a hit as evidenced by the negative return on equity of 48.70%, Intellia realized an increase in revenue by 5.4% from the same quarter in the previous year. This is remarkable given that the previous years net earnings per share were ($1.09).

Analysts have projected that IntelliTherapeutics is set to buck up its operations with losses predicted to stand at $6 EPS both for this fiscal year and the next one to follow yet to come.

For investors interested in dabbling in this firm, at-$36.29 trading price within NASDAQ exchange rates located today, hovering between lowest and highest markers of $32.44 and $76.45 respectively within its 52-week game plan a market capitalization valuation of $3.20 billion is priced into NTLA stock.

Investment experts at Atria Wealth Solutions Inc., Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd, Glenmede Trust Co-NA and First Republic Investment Management Inc have added new stakes totaling about $1,404 million some few years ago.

Nonetheless, Intellia Therapeutics has left investors starved since unrelenting market forces have weighed aggressively on their shares over time may probably need strategic repackaging efforts to fix their brands appeal amongst institutional clients? Time will tell if these sneaky tweaks will lead NTLA on a better path towards profitability soon enough!

Read this article:
Intellia Therapeutics: Leading the Way in Revolutionary Genome ... - Best Stocks

Scholthof, K. B. et al. Top 10 plant viruses in molecular plant pathology. Mol. Plant Pathol. 12, 938954 (2011).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Palukaitis, P. & Garcia-Arenal, F. Cucumoviruses. Adv. Virus Res. 62, 241323 (2003).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Kim, M. K. et al. Molecular genetic analysis of cucumber mosaic virus populations infecting pepper suggests unique patterns of evolution in Korea. Phytopathology 104, 9931000 (2014).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Rahman, M. S., Akanda, A. M., Mian, I. H., Bhuiyan, M. K. A. & Hossain, M. M. New sources of resistance to cucumber mosaic virus in Capsicum annuum. J. Crop Sci. Biotechnol. 19, 249258 (2016).

Article Google Scholar

Doolittle, S. A new infectious mosaic disease of cucumber. Phytopathology 6, 145147 (1916).

Google Scholar

Jagger, I. Experiment with the cucumber mosaic disease. Phytopathology 6, 149151 (1916).

Google Scholar

Roossinck, M. J. Cucumber mosaic virus, a model for RNA virus evolution. Mol. Plant Pathol. 2, 5963 (2001).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Jacquemond, M. Cucumber mosaic virus. Adv. Virus Res. 84, 439504 (2012).

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Ding, S. W., Shi, B. J., Li, W. X. & Symons, R. H. An interspecies hybrid RNA virus is significantly more virulent than either parental virus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 74707474 (1996).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Du, Z. et al. The 2b protein and the C-terminus of the 2a protein of cucumber mosaic virus subgroup I strains both play a role in viral RNA accumulation and induction of symptoms. Virology 380, 363370 (2008).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Lewsey, M. et al. The role of the Cucumber mosaic virus 2b protein in viral movement and symptom induction. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact. 22, 642654 (2009).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Schwinghamer, M. W. & Symons, R. H. Translation of the four major RNA species of cucumber mosaic virus in plant and animal cell-free systems and in toad oocytes. Virology 79, 88108 (1977).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Rizzo, T. M. & Palukaitis, P. Construction of full-length cDNA clones of cucumber mosaic virus RNAs 1, 2 and 3: Generation of infectious RNA transcripts. Mol. Gen. Genet. 222, 249256 (1990).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Seo, J. K., Kwon, S. J., Choi, H. S. & Kim, K. H. Evidence for alternate states of Cucumber mosaic virus replicase assembly in positive- and negative-strand RNA synthesis. Virology 383, 248260 (2009).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Heo, K. J. et al. Newly emerged resistance-breaking variants of cucumber mosaic virus represent ongoing host-interactive evolution of an RNA virus. Virus Evol. 6, veaa070 (2020).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Suzuki, M. et al. Functional analysis of deletion mutants of cucumber mosaic virus RNA3 using an in vitro transcription system. Virology 183, 106113 (1991).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Matsuo, K. et al. Development of Cucumber mosaic virus as a vector modifiable for different host species to produce therapeutic proteins. Planta 225, 277286 (2007).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Canto, T., Prior, D. A. M., Hellwald, K. H., Oparka, K. J. & Palukaitis, P. Characterization of cucumber mosaic virus. 4. Movement protein and coat protein are both essential for cell-to-cell movement of cucumber mosaic virus. Virology 237, 237248 (1997).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Takeshita, M. et al. Infection dynamics in viral spread and interference under the synergism between Cucumber mosaic virus and Turnip mosaic virus. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact. 25, 1827 (2012).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Otagaki, S. et al. Rapid induction of transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing using a novel Cucumber mosaic virus vector. Plant Biotechnol. 23, 259265 (2006).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Krenz, B. et al. Visual monitoring of Cucumber mosaic virus infection in Nicotiana benthamiana following transmission by the aphid vector Myzus persicae. J. Gen. Virol. 96, 29042912 (2015).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Fujiki, M., Kaczmarczyk, J. F., Yusibov, V. & Rabindran, S. Development of a new cucumber mosaic virus-based plant expression vector with truncated 3a movement protein. Virology 381, 136142 (2008).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Wang, R. et al. An efficient virus-induced gene silencing vector for maize functional genomics research. Plant J. 86, 102115 (2016).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Ghanim, M., Brumin, M. & Popovski, S. A simple, rapid and inexpensive method for localization of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus and Potato leafroll virus in plant and insect vectors. J. Virol. Methods 159, 311314 (2009).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Cillo, F., Roberts, I. M. & Palukaitis, P. In situ localization and tissue distribution of the replication-associated proteins of Cucumber mosaic virus in tobacco and cucumber. J. Virol. 76, 1065410664 (2002).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Kogovsek, P. et al. Distribution of Potato virus Y in potato plant organs, tissues, and cells. Phytopathology 101, 12921300 (2011).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Rajamaki, M. L. & Valkonen, J. P. Localization of a potyvirus and the viral genome-linked protein in wild potato leaves at an early stage of systemic infection. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact. 16, 2534 (2003).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Matevz, R. et al. Fluorescently tagged potato virus Y: A versatile tool for functional analysis of plantvirus interactions. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact. 28, 739750 (2015).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Bedoya, L. C., Martinez, F., Orzaez, D. & Daros, J. A. Visual tracking of plant virus infection and movement using a reporter MYB transcription factor that activates anthocyanin biosynthesis. Plant Physiol. 158, 11301138 (2012).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Choi, B. et al. A plant virus-based vector system for gene function studies in pepper. Plant Physiol. 181, 867880 (2019).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Seo, J. K., Lee, H. G. & Kim, K. H. Systemic gene delivery into soybean by simple rub-inoculation with plasmid DNA of a Soybean mosaic virus-based vector. Arch. Virol. 154, 8799 (2009).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Chapman, S. et al. The photoreversible fluorescent protein iLOV outperforms GFP as a reporter of plant virus infection. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105, 2003820043 (2008).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Dolja, V. V., McBride, H. J. & Carrington, J. C. Tagging of plant potyvirus replication and movement by insertion of beta-glucuronidase into the viral polyprotein. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 1020810212 (1992).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Avesani, L. et al. Stability of Potato virus X expression vectors is related to insert size: Implications for replication models and risk assessment. Transgenic Res. 16, 587597 (2007).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Scholthof, H. B., Scholthof, K. B. & Jackson, A. O. Plant virus gene vectors for transient expression of foreign proteins in plants. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 34, 299323 (1996).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Kim, M. H., Kwon, S. J. & Seo, J. K. Evolution of plant RNA viruses and mechanisms in overcoming plant resistance. Res. Plant Dis. 27, 137148 (2021).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Kawakubo, A., Gallois, J. L. & Nakahara, K. S. Monitoring systemic infection by cucumber mosaic virus using a small fluorescent protein iLOV in plants. J. Gen. Plant Pathol. 89, 4752 (2023).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Kwon, S. J., Cho, I. S., Yoon, J. Y. & Chung, B. N. Incidence and occurrence pattern of viruses on peppers growing in fields in Korea. Res. Plant Dis. 24, 6674 (2018).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Kwon, S. J. et al. Ethylene emitted by viral pathogen-infected pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants is a volatile chemical cue that attracts aphid vectors. Front. Plant Sci. 13, 994314 (2022).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Lisa, V. & Boccardo, G. In The Plant Viruses: Polyhedral Virions and Bipartite RNA Genomes (eds B. D. Harrison & A. F. Murant) 229250 (Springer US, 1996).

Seo, J. K. et al. Movement protein of broad bean wilt virus 2 serves as a determinant of symptom severity in pepper. Virus Res. 242, 141145 (2017).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Seo, J. K., Choi, H. S. & Kim, K. H. Engineering of soybean mosaic virus as a versatile tool for studying protein-protein interactions in soybean. Sci. Rep. 6, 22436 (2016).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Mo, G. C. H., Posner, C., Rodriguez, E. A., Sun, T. & Zhang, J. A rationally enhanced red fluorescent protein expands the utility of FRET biosensors. Nat. Commun. 11, 1848 (2020).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Rao, A. L., Cooper, B. & Deom, C. M. Defective movement of viruses in the family Bromoviridae is differentially complemented in Nicotiana benthamiana expressing tobamovirus or dianthovirus movement proteins. Phytopathology 88, 666672 (1998).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Han, S. J. et al. Viral strain-specific activation of pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity enhances symptom severity in broad bean wilt virus 2 infection. Front. Plant Sci. 12, 746543 (2021).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Roossinck, M. J. Plant RNA virus evolution. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 6, 406409 (2003).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Bonnet, J., Fraile, A., Sacristan, S., Malpica, J. M. & Garcia-Arenal, F. Role of recombination in the evolution of natural populations of Cucumber mosaic virus, a tripartite RNA plant virus. Virology 332, 359368 (2005).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Dolja, V. V., Herndon, K. L., Pirone, T. P. & Carrington, J. C. Spontaneous mutagenesis of a plant potyvirus genome after insertion of a foreign gene. J. Virol. 67, 59685975 (1993).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Gonzalez, I. et al. Cucumber mosaic virus 2b protein subcellular targets and interactions: Their significance to RNA silencing suppressor activity. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact. 23, 294303 (2010).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Ding, S. W., Li, W. X. & Symons, R. H. A novel naturally occurring hybrid gene encoded by a plant RNA virus facilitates long distance virus movement. EMBO J. 14, 57625772 (1995).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Ziebell, H., Payne, T., Berry, J. O., Walsh, J. A. & Carr, J. P. A cucumber mosaic virus mutant lacking the 2b counter-defence protein gene provides protection against wild-type strains. J. Gen. Virol. 88, 28622871 (2007).

Continued here:
Visual tracking of viral infection dynamics reveals the synergistic ... - Nature.com