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Most parents have probably heard about the major genetic disorders that can be tested for prior to birth such as trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome). Relatively few people, however, may know about other more “subtle” genetic abnormalities that can be discovered prenatally. Medgadget recently had the opportunity to interview Natera ‘s CTO, Jonathan Sheena, about his company which specializes in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). Through the Q&A we learned more about NIPT as well as the coming shortage of genetic counselors that may limit access to and engagement with one’s...

Many fields of science and medicine rely on the use of microscopes and flow cytometry. Microscopes are used in multiple areas of the medical fields such as to identify pathogens, and examine tissue samples for aberrations, to name a few. Flow cytometry is used for cell sorting, counting and biomarker detection, and is used for the diagnosis of several disorders, including hematological malignancies. While they both play a major role in diagnosing patients, the availability of this technology, especially to poor, remote countries, is lacking. Since microscopes and flow cytometers are both expensive...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Peter K. Vogt, Ph.D., will receive the 2013 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research for his groundbreaking work on cancer-causing viruses that helped establish the field of cancer genetics. Vogt, the executive...

Researchers from University of California Davis have reported in PLOS ONE the development of transgenic goats that produce lysozyme, an antimicrobial normally found in human breast milk. The idea is to use the milk to prevent or alleviate the effects of gastrointestinal infections. The team then setup an experiment where two groups of pigs infected with E. coli were fed from the new, and from the boring old goat’s milk. The results showed that pigs who drank milk from the new transgenic goats did much better in recovering from the infection. Specifically, the pigs fed the new milk recovered...

Bacterial cells that perform sensor duties in the body may be of great benefit for clinical medicine in the future. Cells have been made before to react in specific ways to a given stimulus, which can be detected externally. Now researchers at MIT have developed synthetic genetic circuits within living cells that have Boolean logic gates as well as memory function to remember the result. The bits of memory end up stored within the DNA of the cells and get passed on to their progeny for dozens of generations so that long term sensing is possible without having to keep individual cells alive indefinitely...