Spread of a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant across Europe in summer 2020

There is currently no evidence of this variant being more dangerous

30-Oct-2020 - Researchers from Basel and Spain have identified a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant that has spread widely across Europe in recent months, according to an un-peer-reviewed preprint released this week. While there is no evidence of this variant being more dangerous, its spread may give insights into the ...

Formidable fungal force counters biofuel plant pathogens

05-May-2011 - Fungi play significant ecological and economic roles. They can break down organic matter, cause devastating agricultural blights, enter into symbiotic relationships to protect and nourish plants, or offer a tasty repast. For industrial applications, fungi provide a source of enzymes to catalyze ...

U of T Researchers Develop “Hi-Def” Copy Number Variation Decoder

03-Nov-2010 - University of Toronto researchers have developed a new “high definition” computer program to analyze human DNA and more accurately detect genetic variants that affect individual traits like disease susceptibility and varying drug responses. A multi-disciplinary team combining computer science ...

Scripps research team wins $5.1 million to develop DNA sequencing technology

20-Sep-2010 - Scripps Research Institute Professor Reza Ghadiri, Ph.D., has been awarded a four-year, $5.1 million grant as part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative to spur the development of the next generation of DNA sequencing technologies, which could enable biomedical researchers and ...

Illumina and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Announce Completed Genome for Endangered Tasmanian Devil

Uncovering Mutations Found in Deadly Transmissible Cancer Could Help Conservation Efforts

20-Sep-2010 - Researchers from Illumina, Inc. and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have used Illumina's next generation sequencing technology to create a draft genome sequence for the endangered Tasmanian devil, and will use this to find genetic mutations in the transmissible cancer that is ravaging its ...

Wood's 'noble rot' fungus genetically decoded

22-Jul-2010 - An international team including Empa researcher Francis Schwarze has sequenced the genome of the common split gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, a widely distributed fungus which grows on and decomposes wood. The genome, containing some 13,000 genes, has recently been published in Nature ...

New details of an evolutionary mechanism

Scientists watch as E. coli bacteria evolve heat resistance under stress

24-Jun-2010 - Scientists in Munich report evidence that high concentrations of the molecular "chaperone" proteins GroEL and GroES – intracellular machines that can stabilize folding proteins under stress – play a critical role in increasing the maximum temperature at which E. coli bacteria can grow. Massively ...

Genome sequence of hypertensive rat expected to uncover the genetic basis of hypertension in humans

29-Apr-2010 - Chronic high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a serious health risk factor that afflicts more than 25% of all adults worldwide, but the molecular basis of the disease remains poorly understood. In a study published in Genome Research, scientists have sequenced the genome of the ...

High-performance computing reveals missing genes

16-Apr-2010 - Scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) and the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech have used high-performance computing to locate small genes that have been missed by scientists in their quest to define the microbial DNA sequences of life. Using an ephemeral ...

Genome analysis of marine microbe reveals a metabolic minimalist

23-Feb-2010 - Flightless birds, blind cave shrimp, and other oddities suggest a "use it or lose it" tendency in evolution. In the microbial world, an unusual marine microorganism appears to have ditched several major metabolic pathways, leaving it with a remarkably reduced set of genes. This metabolic ...