Category Archives: DNA

DNA found on soda can leads to conviction
After DNA found on a soda can linked him to a crime, a Denver jury has convicted a burglar in a 2010 break-in.

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puing puing D.N.A

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THE PEOPLE, THE SPIRIT THE DNA OF YOUR COMPANY. ON FILM:
Produced by former TV-news-anchor and Stage Director. http://www.cuttingedgefilms.dk.

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THE PEOPLE, THE SPIRIT & THE DNA OF YOUR COMPANY. ON FILM: - Video

VINNY VELLA, Daily News Staff Writer vellav@phillynews.com, 215-854-2513 Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014, 3:01 AM

LONG DORMANT hopes for justice were revived for two families yesterday, nearly three decades after two young women were slain weeks apart in North Philadelphia.

Police arrested Rudolph Churchill, 51, early yesterday at a home on Fairmount Avenue near Ridge, not far from where Ruby Ellis and Cheryl Hanible were slain in spring 1989. He was charged with two counts of murder in those incidents.

If not for decades-old DNA evidence, Churchill would still be free.

"It's a great feeling, when you can put a case together in terms of getting that missing link, and bringing some sense of closure to the victim's family," police spokesman Lt. John Stanford said last night.

Ellis, 19, was found strangled in an Oldsmobile parked in a lot on Girard Avenue near College on March 17, 1989. Five weeks later, about 1 1/2 miles away, the decomposing body of Hanible, 33, was found inside the shell of a burned-out bar. She also had been strangled.

No arrests were made in either case, and the motive in both was unknown. At the time, the slayings weren't considered to be related, Stanford said.

Investigators entered DNA from both crime scenes into the Combined DNA Index System, a national database of evidence. For years, no matches were found, but the system recently picked up Churchill's name after his DNA was submitted upon his release from prison in Georgia, Stanford said.

"DNA is constantly being placed into the system, and it's constantly running to make connections," Stanford said. "Once that's made, there's still a little bit of legwork to be done."

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DNA leads to arrest in 1989 murders

PHILADELPHIA Hours before dawn on March 17, 1989, a man peered into an abandoned Oldsmobile in a North Philadelphia lot and saw a body.

Police identified the deceased as 19-year-old Ruby Ellis of the 2500 block of West Girard Avenue. A brief news item in The Inquirer the next day reported that she had been strangled, that she was wearing only a jacket, and that she had been dead for several hours when she was found in the car at 15th and Flora Streets.

Five weeks later, The Inquirer ran an item on another strangling: Cheryl Hanible, 33, of Southwest Philadelphia, found inside a burned-out, vacant bar on Girard, blocks from the site of the March 17 slaying.

She had been gagged with a sock and strangled with a shoelace. Neighbors described the building as "a hangout for the homeless, drug addicts, and prostitutes."

No arrests were reported, and the case went unresolved for 25 years - until Wednesday, when detectives using decades-old DNA collected from both crime scenes charged a Paulsboro man in connection with the killings.

Rudolph Churchill, 51, was charged with two counts of murder and related offenses and was awaiting arraignment Wednesday night.

Churchill wasn't on any suspect list in 1989, said Lt. Mark Deegan, who heads the Special Investigations Unit.

But about three years ago, the Police Department received a federal grant that allowed detectives to begin going through old cases for DNA evidence.

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DNA leads to arrest in 25-year-old slayings

The noninvasive test is pretty accurate at finding colon cancer -- not as good as a colonoscopy, but you can take it at home.

The new DNA stool test is currently being reviewed for approval by the FDA.

Last year alone, almost 50,000 Americans died of colon cancer, and nearly 150,000 new cases were discovered. In fact, it's the third most common cancer in the US, according to the American Cancer Society. And yet one in every three qualifying Americans doesn't follow colonoscopy guidelines: getting one at age 50 and every decade thereafter.

There may be many factors at play behind so many people not undergoing the procedure, but even for those who simply feel squeamish about it, it's hard to blame them. Colonoscopies are invasive, uncomfortable, and at least for some, downright embarrassing.

Soon, however, the millions of adults who forego the colon cancer screening test may have a noninvasive, at-home alternative: a DNA stool test. While it's not as reliable as a colonoscopy, new research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the test, which checks for blood and abnormal DNA, is 92 percent accurate.

The test isn't yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and the research, which comes from the Icahn school of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, shows that it isn't perfect. "But neither is a colonoscopy," study co-author Dr. Steven Itzkowitz tells HealthDay. "I don't think we're saying that this test should be done as a replacement for a colonoscopy, but rather as an adjunct. Certainly if a person who does this test comes out with a positive reading then they will need to do a colonoscopy afterwards to confirm it."

The research, which was funded by Exact Sciences Corp., the makers of the test, screened nearly 10,000 men and women aged 50 and older for colon cancer and precancerous polyps at 90 sites across the US and Canada. They used three screening methods: the new DNA test, traditional colonoscopies, and a commercially available fecal test (FIT).

The colonoscopy found colon cancer in 65 patients and precancerous lesions in 757. The DNA test caught 60 of those 65, better than the 48 found using the FIT test. As for precancerous lesions, the stool sample tests were far less accurate -- the DNA test found only 42 percent of cases, while FIT found even fewer, just 24 percent.

The DNA test was also more likely to give false positive results than either the FIT test or a colonoscopy. Still, researchers say that testing DNA and blood in stool samples may come with benefits over colonoscopies: It was quite good at finding certain advanced-stage polyps -- ones that are flat and harder to pick up via colonoscopy.

Given the mixed findings, it's safe to say that, should the DNA stool test go to market, those who opt for it should consider following up with a colonoscopy, or at least know the risks of relying solely on the at-home test.

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New DNA stool test almost as good as dreaded colonoscopy

A new tech start-up sells test kits to the public, measures their DNA damage to simultaneously fund research and gather data

DNA damage resulting in multiple broken chromosomes Credit: Rotatebot/Wikimedia Commons

Exogen Biotechnology, a Berkeley, Calif.based tech start-up, wants more than peoples money to fund its genetic researchit also wants their DNA. But the company doesnt sequence peoples genomes, like 23andMe does. Rather, it measures the overall health of peoples genomes by counting double-strand breaks in their DNA. Exogens research project is one of the latest entrants into the burgeoning field of crowdfunded citizen science. It sells a DNA damage testing kit to consumers who send back a blood sample for analysis. To count the double-strand breaks, the company uses an automated technology that co-founder Sylvain Costes developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which supplants the traditional, painstaking process of counting breaks by hand. As the company Web site explains, everyone has DNA damage due to aging, lifestyle and environmental exposures, which the body will often repair. But some people may have a higher risk of damage if, for example, theyre elderly smokers who like to tan on the beach. Furthermore, two people with seemingly similar risk levels may differ because individuals vary in their natural ability to repair DNA. This means some individuals may have accrued more damage than others. Based on the DNA analysis and demographic information they collect along with the test, Exogen says it can tell people where they sit on the risk continuum compared with others of similar age, lifestyle, geographic location and other factors. Costes and co-founder Jonathan Tang ultimately want to create a worldwide database with this information (although customers can opt out if they choose). They think it will inform our understanding of how health problems such as premature aging, cancer and other diseases are linked to DNA damage caused by lifestyle and environmental factors such as smoking and exposure to ionizing radiation. Because Exogen uses a rather avant-garde method for its research, as do other citizen science projects, its approach raises a fundamental question: Is it promising its customers more than its test can actually tell them about their health? Higher DNA damage may increase the risk of certain health problems, such as cancer, but scientists do not know enough yet to draw a direct causal line or reliable correlation. Whether this test result will give the individual knowledge of how to behave or what to expect in life, we dont have the slightest idea about that at the moment, says Lawrence Loeb, a DNA mutation expert at the University of Washington. And although it cant hurt if test results push someone to exercise more, smoke less or wear sunscreen, it should not give individuals with lower than average DNA damage the idea that they are bulletproof, according to Loeb. Exogen believes it has made the limitations of its test clear to people buying its kits. It is targeting quantified selfers, people who are eager to understand more about their own genetics. The test does not tell them much about their personal health for now, but Exogens owners hope that will change. They want to gather enough data from their customers to be able to spot links between DNA damage, environmental and lifestyle factors, and disease. It doesnt necessarily mean that if your DNA damage is high, youre going to get cancer, says Steve Yannone, the Principle Scientist at Exogen and researcher at Lawrence Berkeley. Thats where the research comes in. Were trying to push towards getting those types of correlations. The company hopes to eventually run its research results through the peer review process, just like a traditional study, and publish its findings in a scientific journal. If the DNA damage test turns out to be diagnostically useful, it plans to sell the technology to medical professionals rather than the public. Although Exogens owners acknowledge the lack of evidence linking DNA damage to disease, its marketing approach is somewhat less forthcoming. Its Web site does not clearly indicate that scientists have not established dependable correlations between DNA damage and disease in most people (exceptions include certain rare hereditary diseases). Instead, their site states, It is important to minimize damage to your DNA because scientists have linked DNA damage and poor repair to cancer, neurological diseases, accelerated aging and many other serious medical conditions, which the average consumer might assume means a definitive link. Their Web site is a little bit leaning towards hype, says Scott Diehl, director of the Center for Pharmacogenomics and Complex Disease Research at Rutgers University. Yet Diehl also concedes that in order to crowdfund a project, you cant be shy. These guys are pretty good. Theyre asking people to support their researchyes, theyre also quasi selling them a test, but its pretty mild compared to the other charlatans out there. Some scientists are also skeptical of Exogens unusual study methods because, like other citizen science projects, the company gathers data from customers rather than using a standardized clinical trial study setup. Yannone defended the companys credentials, however. Were not a bunch of vegetable farmers, were scientists, so we know how this works, he says. We expect our study methods to stand up in the peer review process. As with any business that analyzes peoples genetic material, privacy questions inevitably arise. Exogens privacy policy seems standard, according to Diehl, and users own their data and decide whether they want to participate in Exogens research. Users can also opt to remove all personal information from the database if they wish. If Exogen publishes its study, participants remain anonymous. Theres also the danger that companies could intentionally or accidentally leak personal genomic information to others who find it valuable, such as insurance companies, employers and advertisers. The 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act has mitigated this danger to some extent. It prohibits health insurance companies and employers from discriminating based on DNA, such as denying health coverage or employment, respectively, to individuals because they have a genetic predisposition for a particular disease. Yet privacy concerns about Exogen seem pretty minor compared with other genetic sequencing businesses, at least so far. The information Exogen deals with is not as valuable as a complete genetic profile because scientists, much less advertisers and insurance companies, do not yet understand what DNA damage says about personal health, although this may change if Exogen is successful. Exogens owners think that someday a DNA damage test may be as commonplace as a cholesterol test and that it will help doctors evaluate the risk of certain diseases. And because people vary in their ability to repair their DNA, it may also tell someone whether theyre more or less at risk for some diseases when they engage in genetically damaging activities, such as smoking or baking on a sunny beach. It could also pinpoint whether a toxic exposure event, such as the recent chemical spill in Charleston, W.Va., can damage peoples DNA in a way that causes serious health problems. With over $80,000 raised from crowdfunding its obvious that many people are excited by Exogens research. It is not as apparent that they realize their contributionsboth monetary and fluidare mostly altruistic for now.

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Citizen Science Project Markets Test for Damaged DNA

IBM is teaming up with the New York Genome Center to help fight brain cancer.

The company said Wednesday that its Watson cloud computing system will be used in partnership with a New York-based genetic research center to help develop treatments for glioblastoma, the most common type of brain cancer in U.S. adults.

"Time definitely is not on your side when you have glioblastoma and that's where Watson comes in," Dr. Robert Darnell, New York Genome's president, CEO and scientific director, said at a Wednesday event announcing the deal.

Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive form of cancer. The median survival rate is 12 to 14 months and the disease kills about 13,000 people each year.

As part of the clinical trial, New York Genome Center, a nonprofit consortium of academic, medical and industry officials, will sequence the DNA of glioblastoma patients, then use Watson to combine that data with clinical information to help determine the best way to treat each patient.

What makes Watson unique is that it isn't programed like most computers. Instead of relying on the information that's put into it, Watson learns by "reading" vast amounts of information and combining it with the results of previous work to find answers to problems. Those characteristics make Watson ideal for extremely data-heavy work in fields such as health care and finance.

The partnership also comes at a time when IBM is increasing its focus on Watson and other cloud-based software services, as it moves further away from its computer hardware roots. Earlier this year, IBM announced it would invest $1 billion to give Watson its own business division and headquarters in New York City.

John Kelly, a senior vice president and director of IBM Research, says there's a vast amount of data involved in DNA sequencing, which then must be combined with all of the clinical data involved in a particular patient's case. The resulting pool of information is so big that it's impossible for people to deal with.

"This is sort of big data on steroids," Kelly says.

Darnell says the hope is that Watson will speed up the time it takes for physicians to determine a patient's treatment plan.

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IBM's Watson to Help Sequence Cancer DNA

Stun DNA Mini#6
Hope u enjoyed! if you guys enjoyed please leave a like and comment! help me get 15 likes! also i just joined Stun thanks to Ajs ! a big opportunity for me! ...

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Stop Motion Video: DNA Replication

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Stop Motion Video: DNA Replication - Video