Category Archives: Transhuman News

Chapter 16.9 The Human Genome
You need Adobe Flash Player to watch this video. Download it from Adobe. Chapter 16.9 The Human Genome. thedmccurdy197094 videos. Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe 4. No views. Like 0 Dislike 0. Like. Sign in to youtube. Sign in with your youtube Accountyoutube Google+ Gmail Orkut Picasa or Chrome to like thedmccurdy1970s video. Sign in. I dislike this. Sign in to youtube. Sign in with your youtube Accountyoutube Google+ Gmail Orkut Picasa or Chrome to dislike thedmccurdy1970s video ...

By: thedmccurdy1970

Here is the original post:
Chapter 16.9 The Human Genome - Video

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded its first contract for whole genome DNA sequencing and data analysis to Personalis, Inc., of Menlo Park, CA. The contract will utilize samples from several VA sources, including from the Million Veteran Program (MVP). Using its secure computing facility and proprietary algorithms, Personalis will QC all raw data, call variants against an advanced human reference sequence, annotate both SNV/indels and SVs, and provide genetic analyses to help confirm sample / data chain of custody. Personalis plans to subcontract the laboratory genetic analysis, including both DNA sequencing and genome-scale genotyping, to Illumina, Inc., of San Diego, CA.

Personalis CEO John West said The VAs MVP has the potential to be the largest and most important medical sequencing effort in the world. We are thrilled that the VA has chosen Personalis for the DNA sequencing and analysis on this project. Our emphasis is on delivering an accurate and comprehensive sequencing solution for the VA.

About the VA Million Veteran Program

Launched in 2011, MVP is a landmark research effort aimed at better understanding how genes affect health. Up to a million Veterans are expected to enroll in the VA study over the next 5-6 years. Data and genetic samples collected through the study are stored securely and made available for studies by authorized researchers, with stringent safeguards in place to protect Veterans private health information. MVP is now enrolling at over 40 VA medical centers nationwide. The VAs central bio-repository is equipped with a state-of-the-art robotic system for DNA extraction and storage and is currently being expanded to support up to 4 million samples. With more than 135,000 enrollees to date, MVP already far exceeds the enrollment numbers of any single VA study or research program in the past.

MVP provides researchers with a rich resource of genetic, health, lifestyle, and military-exposure data collected from questionnaires, medical records, and genetic analyses. By combining this information into a single database, MVP promises to advance knowledge about the complex links between genes and health.

Veterans privacy and confidentiality are top priorities in MVP, as in all VA research. For more information about MVP, visit http://www.research.va.gov/MVP

About Personalis

Personalis provides researchers and clinicians accurate DNA sequencing and interpretation of human genomes. We support researchers engaging in case-control, family-based, or proband-only genome studies of disease, pharmacogenomics, and cancer. Our ACE (Accuracy and Content Enhanced) Technology can supplement a standard exome or genome, substantially increasing its medically-relevant coverage and accuracy. Personalis builds on this foundation with innovative algorithms and proprietary databases for alignment, variant calling, annotation, and analysis. With this combination, we provide genomic data and interpretation of the highest accuracy.

Follow this link:
Personalis Awarded Contract From VA Million Veteran Program – Whole Genome Sequencing and Data Analysis for Over 1,000 ...

When scientists sequenced the human genome in 2000, it revolutionized biomedical research, much like the invention of the Internet forever changed communications.

The Human Genome Project aimed to identify all the genes in the human genome. At first, scientists estimated that humans had less than 100,000 genes. Then improved methods lowered that to 35,000. Now, a new analysis suggests that humans have no more than 21,000 genes. When considering the complexity of a human being, that number does not seem very high.

However, even the highest of those estimates accounted for less than 20 percent of the DNA sequence in the human genome. The rest of the sequence did not appear to encode genes that led to proteins, and was therefore considered nonfunctional or junk DNA.

Now a recent study by more than 400 researchers at 32 institutions challenges that notion, suggesting that more than 80 percent of the human genome is indeed utilized and therefore important in the overall biology of each person. So much for junk DNA! The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project concluded that 20,687 genes produce proteins and an additional 18,400 genes produce RNA involved in coordinating the activity of the genes that produce proteins.

This extensive effort originally focused on the genomes of a small number of human cells but later expanded to include almost 150 different cells, including immune, embryonic, liver tissue, umbilical cord and cancer cells. Specific genes produce proteins for different tissues at different stages of human growth, so using this wide array insured that the analysis included all active genomic regions and gave a broader view of the genome.

The analysis also identified genome regions associated with specific human diseases, creating an opportunity for better understanding these diseases and treating them. In addition, the ENCODE project revealed just how different humans are from other mammals like monkeys, dogs, or dolphins. While previous estimates suggested that just 5 percent of the human genome is unique from other animals, ENCODEs research doubled that estimate to almost 10 percent. Another revelation showed just how complex the control mechanisms of the human genome really are. They signal almost 20,000 genes at the exact time and location to allow a fetus to develop normally and instruct the specific workings of tissues, as in the kidneys, lungs, or brain.

So the action of genes is controlled by layer upon layer of interacting and intricate controls that make each person who they are. Homo sapiens is a species of biological wonder and it will require many years of intense study for us to even begin to understand the mysteries of how genes are regulated to make a human being.

Read the original:
Doctors Column: Revisiting the human genome

AARHUS, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Today CLC bio released CLC Microbial Genome Finishing Module, an add-on module to CLC Genomics Workbench, which has been developed to help finish the assembly of small genomes.

Senior Field Application Specialist, Dr. Marta Matvienko, states, "High-throughput sequencing technologies enable rapid full-genome sequencing, but short read lengths and repetitive sequences often complicate full genome assembly and result in fragmented assemblies. Genome Finishing Module helps produce high quality assemblies for small genomes such as bacterial or fungal species. This suite of tools reduces the extensive workload previously associated with genome finishing, by facilitating as many steps in the procedure as possible."

CLC Microbial Genome Finishing Module is a collection of tools with different functionalities to identify, visualize, and solve problems in genome assemblies. The tools are:

More about CLC Microbial Genome Finishing Module

Click here to get more information:

http://www.clcbio.com/link.php?id=361

Click here to download CLC Microbial Genome Finishing Module:

http://www.clcbio.com/link.php?id=362

About CLC bio

See original here:
CLC bio releases module for microbial genome finishing

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 11, 2013) - Genome British Columbia, the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are embarking on a remarkable partnership to discover the microbes present in salmon in BC that may be undermining the productivity of BC's Pacific salmon. The project will conduct epidemiological assessments to explore the transmission dynamics and historical presence of detected microbes, with key focus on microbes that are suspected globally to be causing disease in salmon. Researchers will apply genomic technology to identify and verify which microbes are presently carried by BC's wild and cultured fish.

The project is being managed in four sequential Phases with Phase 1 valued at $930,000. The first phase is taking place over 12 months, concluding mid-2013, and comprises the collection phase of both cultured and wild salmon. While later phases are subject to final funding, Phase 2 involves rigorous analysis of the tissue samples collected in Phase 1 and in previous research. Using molecular and genomic tools, the research team will attempt to determine when and where microbes may have been transmitted.The research results will begin to rank microbes by their potential to cause disease in BC salmon based on relationships with microbes associated with disease in other parts of the world and histological evidence from salmon in BC.Phase 3 will focus in on the microbes identified in Phase 2, with an emphasis on microbes that have not been extensively researched and that are thought to be of pathological significance in salmon. Phase 4 will include reporting of research and presentations to management agencies on the potential utility of methods developed and the application of outcomes to future monitoring.

Over 90% of juvenile salmon migrating from freshwater into the ocean will die before returning to freshwater to spawn. The scientific community believes that mortality is highest during the first few months in the marine environment and that disease may be a significant factor in this mortality, but not enough is known about what pathogens or diseases might be involved.

What is already known comes almost exclusively from observations of cultured fish (both in hatcheries and in aquaculture). Consequently, there is a fair understanding of pathogens and diseases that impact salmon in freshwater hatcheries and sea-water net pens, but a much poorer understanding of pathogens affecting Pacific salmon in the ocean.

Uncertainty about pathogens and diseases was highlighted in the final report of the Cohen Commission Inquiry into the Decline of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon. In this report, Justice Bruce Cohen noted that more research is needed to make accurate assessments about the range of possible impacts on wild fish stocks. The research conducted by the Pacific Salmon Foundation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and funded in part by Genome BC, will address specific recommendations from the Cohen Commission report and build on the body of research referenced by the Commission.

Phase I is being led by Dr. Brian Riddell of the Pacific Salmon Foundation and co-led by Dr. Kristi Miller of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

"This project is about developing effective monitoring tools to assess the microbes in BC's salmon, assessing the risk of these microbes to Pacific salmon, and establishing public confidence that people are watching over the health of our wild salmon populations," said Dr. Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation."The uniqueness of the project is its comprehensiveness.We are bringing a strong team of scientists together to assess the risk of disease to all species of wild salmon, including salmon produced in our hatcheries and salmon from aquaculture. We will also engage the full range of stakeholders, including government, industry, communities and conservation groups that have an interest in this research."

From the outset of the project, the development of a stakeholder consultation process that enhances understanding and dialogue about the health of our Pacific salmon is paramount. The stakeholder group will provide input to information needs, public engagement and communications and on ways to integrate research on microbes and disease on BC salmon. This group of stakeholders will encompass a wide cross-section of BC citizens with an interest inBritish Columbia's salmon (including wild, hatchery, and farm raised salmon), including regulators, managers, harvesters, Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGOs) and farmers.

"This is a unique and collaborative approach to an issue that affects a diverse group of stakeholders," says Dr. Alan Winter, President and CEO of Genome British Columbia. "It is gratifying to see part of Genome BC's $37.5 million investment in salmonid research being used as a foundation for this significant project."

Note to editors: Further details about the SHI project is included in attached background information.

Continue reading here:
Genome BC: Salmon Health: Past, Present and Future