Eagle, the Cambridge UK bioinformatics software and services business, has made several key appointments as it rolls out major initiatives in genomics research. The scale-up follows significant developments for Eagle this year. It recently won a Small Business Research Initiative competition, which will see the company further develop its technology for genomic data management and analysis. The competition was funded by the Department of Health, through the SBRI and managed by Genomics England, which supports the efforts to map 100,000 whole genomes of NHS patients with cancer or a rare disease by 2017. As a winner of the first phase, Eagle has received a share of the 1.6 million fund available. This will be used to extend the capabilities of its existing technology platform, which has been developed to meet the demand for improved NGS technology in the healthcare sector. Eagle, based at Babraham Research Campus, is propelling new opportunities in large scale omics data and its application to real world problems in health, wellness, food and environmental sectors. The latest appointments include a new vice-president of global sales and internal promotions for the chief scientific officer and chief technical officer positions. Michael Reynolds joins Eagle as VP of global … Continue reading →

July 28, 2014 redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online A previously undetected virus, discovered in intestinal samples, could influence the behavior of common gut bacteria and could even play a role in conditions such as diabetes and obesity, according to a new Nature Communications study. According to BBC News health reporter Smitha Mundasad, scientists from San Diego State University were exploring genetic material found in intestinal samples when they discovered a new type of bacteriophage which they have dubbed the crAssphage virus. The virus, the study authors explained, is present in more than half of the worlds population and it was apparently discovered by accident. CrAssphage, as it turns out, was first detected when SDSU bioinformatics professor Robert A. Edwards discovered an unusual cluster of viral DNA while studying the samples of 12 individuals. The viral DNA strand was approximately 97,000 base pairs long, and was common to each of the samples. Edwards and his associates checked their discovery against a comprehensive listing of known viruses, but found no match. They then screened for it across the National Institute of Healths Human Microbiome Project (HMP) and Argonne National Laboratorys MG-RAST databases, and again found it in several human … Continue reading →