The term DNA sequencing encompasses biochemical methods for determining the order of the nucleotide bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a DNA oligonucleotide. The sequence of DNA constitutes the heritable genetic information in nuclei, plasmids, mitochondria, and chloroplasts that forms the basis for the developmental programs of all living organisms. Determining the DNA sequence is therefore useful in basic research studying fundamental biological processes, as well as in applied fields such as diagnostic or forensic research.
‘Genome 10K’ proposal aims to sequence 10,000 vertebrates – An international group of scientists is proposing to generate whole genome sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species using technology so new it hasn’t yet been invented.
Major breast cancer breakthrough announced at BC Cancer Agency — BC scientists first in world to decode genetic evolution of a breast cancer tumour. – Canadian researchers have decoded all of the three billion letters in the DNA sequence of a metastatic lobular breast cancer tumor, a type of breast cancer which accounts for about 10 per cent of all breast cancers.
Found: 1 in 3 billion — The spelling mistake in the genetic code that causes a type of ovarian cancer. – Eureka! Vancouver scientists from the Ovarian Cancer Research (OvCaRe) Program at BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered that there appears to be a single spelling mistake in the genetic code of granulosa cell tumours, a rare and often untreatable form of ovarian cancer.
Study finds unexpected bacterial diversity on human skin – Genomic research lays groundwork for new approaches for treating, preventing skin diseases. – The health of our skin – one of the body’s first lines of defense against illness and injury – depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes that live on its surface.
Getting down to cancer basics — Cancer mutations in the heart of gene regulation. – Researchers have identified a new cancer gene – one that is common to many cancers and affects the most basic regulation of our genes.
New prenatal test for Down syndrome less risky than amniocentesis, Stanford/Packard scientists say. – Pregnant women worried about their babies’ genetic health face a tough decision: get prenatal gene testing and risk miscarriage, or skip the tests and miss the chance to learn of genetic defects before birth.
Researchers from four continents announced the launch of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), a major collaboration designed to identify the key genetic mutations involved in up to 50 types of cancer. – The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), which includes the Wellcome Trust and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK, will generate a valuable resource enabling the development of new and better ways of diagnosing, treating and preventing cancer.
DNA sequencing establishes high throughput genetic sequencing as powerful tool for pathogen discovery; technology enables improvements in screening for transplant safety. – In the first application of high throughput DNA sequencing technology to investigate an infectious disease outbreak, link the discovery of a new arenavirus to the deaths of three transplant recipients who received organs from a single donor in Victoria, Australia in April 2007.
One thousand people are to have their genomes mapped in a major effort to understand how genes influence disease. – An international research consortium announced the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of at least a thousand people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.
