Music and cancer do not go together, and I mean that in the context of this new technology:
A project at Harvard Medical School created a program to translate the signals from cells into musical notes. Normal signals will sound harmonious, abnormal signals like those coming from cancer cells will sound awful.
Listen to this –
 

 
Using date from a pre-existing colon cancer study, bioinformatician Gil Alterovitz and his team created a program that transforms complex genomic information into musical notes, so that abnormal data will sound discordant.
“When things go awry, such as in the case of p53-null mutant …read more

45 breaks and fractures , 16 screws and 2 plates in lower right leg , 3 screws in right knee , 2 screws in left knee , 4 pins and 2 screws in right wrist , 2 screws and a load of wire in left elbow that’s about it.

Ouch. That sounds like major ‘machinery’ repair to me.
When bones break into several pieces, usually the only repair would be screws, pins and plates. But that could all be a thing of the past with this medical breakthrough –
Scientists created a synthetic glue for repairing broken bones using the genes …read more

After the genome maps of an African, two Europeans, and a Chinese have been published, a Korean professor claims to have completed the “most accurate” genomic map yet – that of a 30-some healthy Korean male. The map is 99.94 accurate, having repeated analyses say, on chromosome 20, an average of 150 times.
A research team lead by Professor Seo Jeong-Seon, from Seoul National University, published its finding on Nature. Professor Seo emphasized the importance of having an accurate map as a foundation of personalized medicine.
“It is important to have precise and accurate genome information of an individual since it is …read more

Last month I told you about an innovative partnership that brings community healthcare into the 21st century. The Genomic Medicine Institute was launched at Silicon Valley’s El Camino Hospital together with DNA Direct to enable physicians and their patients access to leading-edge genomic services.
Genomic Medicine Institute was created so that patients can be better directed in their decisions about their medical conditions, especially when it comes to using genetic tests and counseling. For example, when someone finds out she has breast cancer, one of the questions that is asked is will she pass it to her daughter? Should she tell …read more

It may be unconventional to post a promo trailer on a genetics site, but I’ve been waiting for this film since I first heard of it.
“My Sister’s Keeper” is the story of two young sisters whose lives would be intertwined beyond their control. Kate is the older sister – beautiful, graceful and living with a rare genetic disease called acute promyelocytic leukemia. Anna is three years younger – genetically engineered and conceived to be a genetic match for Kate. Whatever Kate’s body needs – cord blood, blood, bone marrow, kidney – Anna is the donor. How many times can you …read more

In recent years, more and more genetic tests and therapies have become available for patients, physicians and the interested individual. But how does one know which tests to take or are appropriate for one’s condition? And what do we do after we have the test results on our hands? Can our physician help us?
This March, the Genomic Medicine Institute was launched at El Camino Hospital in Monterey, California in response to the emerging opportunities and challenges that the genomic era has introduced. El Camino partnered with DNA Direct to become the first community hospital to integrate genomic medical services into …read more

A person with myopia can see closer objects better than distant objects (which appear blurred). A person with “high” myopia is so extremely nearsighted that only objects that are very near can be seen clearly, rendering the person as blind. Whereas a person with “mild” myopia may see object farther away as blurry but the person’s eyesight can still function.
Like most research in genetics, finding the genes for myopia has not been straightforward or easy. That’s because myopia has been defined, measured and classified in many different ways, in different studies. There’s high versus mild myopia or school versus adult …read more

Has your mom ever told you not to watch TV too closely? Have you been told as a child that reading too much (or cross-stitching too much) will hurt your eyes? That’s not too far out an idea, at all.
Myopia or nearsightedness is a condition where one has trouble seeing objects that are farther away. Symptoms, usually developing in early childhood and teen years include squinting when trying to concentrate on an object far away, or holding an object very close to the face (to read, or to see it clearer). The person may want to sit very near the …read more

Aggressive cancer treatments like chemotherapy works by killing diseased cells. But these therapies also harm healthy cells and leave the patient weak and more vulnerable to other complications. But a promising technology developed at Stanford University kills diseased cells ONLY!
Researchers led by Christina Smolke have developed “intelligent molecules” that can go into the cells and look for biomarkers (changes in the abundance of proteins or other biomolecule levels) before acting to either destroy or leave the cells alone. Only cells that have the biomarkers are destroyed by the molecules.
Intelligent molecules can be used in many different applications in …read more

Forensics and criminal investigations now routinely include using the DNA to identify a person – missing, dead or a criminal suspect – by matching with other DNA samples on the scene or a database. Obviously, this technology becomes limited when there is no database or DNA to match with.
But now, it is possible to actually draw a person’s face using a DNA sample! Called “forensic molecular photofitting”, the process uses mapped genes that are linked to skin pigmentation and facial structure to reconstruct facial features and skin tones.
The process was used to help identify a serial killer in Baton …read more