Deciphering Nature's Alphabet - 4. Imagining the Genome This film describes the launch of the Human Genome Project, how the idea emerged from the growing genetic engineering capacity, the technologies, politics and finances of genomics. Key inte Read more from the original source: Deciphering Nature's Alphabet - 4. Imagining the Genome - Video … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Apr-2014 Contact: Tamlyn Oliver toliver@clinicalomics.com 914-740-2199 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News New Rochelle, NY, April 24, 2014GEN Publishing recently introduced Clinical OMICs a semi-monthly digital publication focusing on the application of OMICs technologies in clinical settings. These advanced techniques, such as next-gen sequencing, are beginning to transform medical care just as they revolutionized basic life science research over the past decade-and-a-half. "GEN's editors and reporters have written about the research use of pharmacogenomics, genomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, etc. etc. for years," said John Sterling, editor-in-chief of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). "The rapid advance of OMICs technologies has reached the point where we are convinced that the time is now for a new publication that shows how these diagnostic methodologies are dramatically impacting clinical practice." Clinical OMICs is directed at clinical lab directors and managers, oncologists, infectious disease specialists, and cardiologists. Intended to serve as a resource for the development and standardization of best OMICs practices, Clinical OMICs provides critical information and insights on the trend toward personalized medicine. The premier issue contains articles on translating OMICs into cancer biology and medicine, how payers are grappling with reimbursement issues, a profile of Lawrence Brody, who is … Continue reading →

BALTIMORE, MD. Scientists have built a custom chromosome -- a package of genetic material assembled entirely from synthetic DNA. This engineered chromosome belongs to yeast, but experts say it can help them understand how genes work in humans as well. And it could help make these tiny living factories better at producing everything from medicines to biofuels. Students were key to the project In a lab at Johns Hopkins University, students stitched together machine-made strands of DNA, the chemical that carries the genetic blueprints of life. Their goal: to assemble all 6,000 genes in the genome of yeast. "So, in every single well there should have hopefully been something, said Macintosh Cornwell, a student at Johns Hopkins. Cornwell, a junior, is looking for signs his last stitching reaction worked. So, overall, we had pretty moderate success across the board, he said. Johns Hopkins geneticist Jef Boeke leads the class. He said yeast does familiar jobs, like turning grapes into wine, but they also do more than that. We have yeast that are used not just to make alcohol and bread, but also all kinds of chemicals, medicines, vaccines and fuels. And I think were going to see more and more … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Apr-2014 Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News New Rochelle, NY, April 24, 2014D-ribose is a commercially important sugar used as a sweetener, a nutritional supplement, and as a starting compound for synthesizing riboflavin and several antiviral drugs. Genetic engineering of Escherichia coli to increase the bacteria's ability to produce D-ribose is a critical step toward achieving more efficient industrial-scale production of this valuable chemical, as described in an article in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Industrial Biotechnology website. In "Engineering Escherichia coli for D-Ribose Production from Glucose-Xylose Mixtures." Pratish Gawand and Radhakrishnan Mahadevan, University of Toronto, Canada, describe the metabolic engineering strategy they used to increase the yield of D-ribose from the genetically modified E. coli, which were able to produce D-ribose from mixtures of glucose and xylose. The authors propose future research directions for additional metabolic engineering and bioprocess optimization. "The research article by Gawand and Mahadevan represents one of many ways that molecular biology is being deployed to expand Industrial Biotechnology development," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Professor, Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. ### … Continue reading →