In BriefPhysicians disclosed more about how they implanted a 3-parentfertilized egg into a 36-year-old woman with a history of geneticillness and failed pregnancies. The procedure resulted in the birthof a healthy baby boy in 2016. When Three People Make a Baby

The long-held belief that we get half our genes from our father and the other half from our mother may not be as accurate as we once thought. In fact, scientistshave discovered that your mothers genes might actually have a few inches on that of your fathers in the genetic tug-of-war involving your genetic makeup.

The culprit is the mitochondria, which, thanks to memes, we all know is the powerhouse of the cell butthe mitochondria ismuch more than that when it comes to fertilization. Sometimes, in the case of genetic diseases, its function can be deadly. But thanks to pioneer physicianJohn Zhangand his team, families with a known history of genetic diseases may have the opportunity to raise a healthy child through the conception ofa 3-parent-baby.

Zhangs team has provided more details about a healthyconception they helped bring about in a paper published on 3 April in Reproductive Biomedicine Online. Zhang used mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) to helpa 36-year-old woman to conceive a child. While the womanis asymptomatic of Leigh syndrome, she had already hadfour pregnancy losses, and herfamily history was marked with the disease. Leigh syndrome is a severe neurobiological disorder that impairs the central nervous system and becomes apparent in the first year of life, often leading to death several years later.

Twenty percent of all Leigh syndrome cases are linked to mitochondrial inheritance from the mother, which is why Zhangs method of collecting donor immature egg cells(from the third person) is provingto be an effective gene therapy. In his case study, Zhangs team collected 28healthy donor immature egg cells and verified if the mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) was safe from pathogenic mutations for insertion. A doctor collected 29 eggs from the mother, but only five were suitable for the procedure.

Usingan electrofusion technique, which combines different cells with an electric current, the team transferred the mothers genome into a donated egg with healthy mitochondria. The hybrid egg was then fertilized by the fathers sperm and transferred to the mothers womb.

The MRT technique proved successful with the birth of a healthy male child in 2016. While 25percent of themothers total mitochondria was affected by Leigh syndrome, the disease affected only two to nine percent of the childsmitochondria.

In accordance with current U.S. federal law, the fertilized egg with the mothers genome and donors cytoplasm was implanted in the mother in a fertility clinic in Mexico. The previousprocedures, including egg collection, mitochondrial replacement, and fertilization, were conducted in a private fertility clinic in New York.

While the U.K. leads the world in providing MRT, the U.S. has a difficult history with the technique.As of last year, the FDA greenlighted MRT with male embryos only. This is because any family history of mitochondrial disease would end with themale, as he cannot significantly pass on harmful mitochondrial DNA to any of his potential offspring. Even with the FDAs approval, the 2016congressional budgetprohibits the implantation of modified embryos into any woman, which is why Zhangs team went to Mexico.

While many are terrified that MRT will evolveinto eugenics and designer babies, its obvious that without MRT, Zhangs patient may have never had her little boy.

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Genetics 2.0: Scientists Have Officially Created New Kind of Child - Futurism

What happened

After reporting that a mid-stage clinical trial stumbled,NewLink Genetics Corporation (NASDAQ:NLNK)shares lost 10.3% of their value today.

Last year, attention shifted to NewLink's IDO-inhibiting cancer drug pipeline after its once-promising algenpantucel-L failed to achieve its primary endpoint in phase 3 trials.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

This morning, investors got a closer look at interim data from a phase 2 trial evaluating its IDO-inhibitor indoximod, and despite arguably competitive response rates, investors were disappointed.

In its trial, indoximod was used alongside Merck & Co. checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda in 60 patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma. The objective response rate to the combination was 52%, and the disease control rate was 73%. For reference, the disease control rate includes patients determined to have a complete response, a partial response, or stable disease.

These were solid rates, but investors appear worried that they might not match up as competitively to Incyte's competing IDO-inhibitor,epacadostat. In smaller phase 1 trials involving 19 patients, the ORR for epacadostat plus Keytruda was 58%.

Indoximod development is continuing as planned, and earlier this year, management reported that its spending on indoximod's R&D will increase substantially as trials expand to include more patients and cancer indications.

Investors should also see initial results for another IDO-inhibitor later this year. The company's GDC-0919 attempts to inhibit IDO in a way that's more similar to Incyte's drug than indoximod, and collaboration partnerRoche Holdings is expected to report some phase 1b data in the second half of 2017.

Overall, there's a lot going on at this company, and while the data might not have been as robust as hoped to justify the uptick in development expenses, it seems to me like today's drop was more "sell the news" than anything else.

Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned.His clients may have positions in the companies mentioned.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Continued here:
Why NewLink Genetics Shares Fell 10.3% Today - Motley Fool

If youve ever been treated for depression, your saliva sample and survey responses could help inform the worlds biggest genetic investigation into the illness.

The Australian Genetics of Depression Study has been launched as part of an international collaboration aiming to identify genes that predispose people to depression.

The results of the research will eventually help eliminate the guesswork involved in treatment, according to the countrys lead investigator Professor Nick Martin from the Q-I-M-R Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

At the moment if somebody goes to their doctor with depression they get put on one of the standard drugs and it works for some people, but doesnt work for a lot of them, he told Hack.

Professor Martin said many need to experiment with different medications and struggle to find the right fit.

What we need to do is try and take the hit-and-miss out of treatment and try to make a predictive test which will be based upon genetics."

Previous research has identified particular genetic regions of DNA associated with depression and shown the illness can run in families.

While environmental factors also play a part, the aim of this research is to create more targeted treatment by using genetics to predict which medications will work for which people.

To get the data they need, researchers require about 20,000 adult participants across Australia.

19-year-old Kayla Gonzalez is a forensic science student and musician from Victoria.

She has been treated for depression since she was 16 and was an early participant of the study.

Kayla told Hack research like this is crucial.

My family - two to three generations back - has a history of either depression or bipolar.So for me, if I could do this study and I could have kids and be able to stop them from having to go through [depression] that is fantastic.

She added she was lucky she didnt have to mess around with meds too much, but saw her how laborious it was for her mother.

Just having to go through that constant guess work can trigger so many more issues. I think if we can eradicate that mismatched part of it and figure out what works well for [individuals] it would have such a good impact, she said.

She said it would also help prevent teen suicide.

Researchers have called for more people like Kayla to take part.

Were at a stage now of medicine where the biggest aid we can get is not even people giving us government money - although thats necessary its actually volunteers from the community who are willing to go a little bit out of their way to help medical research, Professor Martin said.

The number of antidepressant subscriptions in Australia has increased massively over the past 10 years.

Professor Martin said the research will also look side effects of antidepressants, including how they impact libido.

The idea would be to design to new drugs that are efficacious and that dont come with these undesirable side effects, he said.

I would hope within 10 years were seeing the fruits of this in new medications.

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Australian scientists begin world's largest genetic study into depression - ABC Online

MINSK, 4 April (BelTA) Belarus and Russia have plans to establish joint breeding and genetics centers, Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats told reporters on 4 April, BelTA has learned.

The minister said that the meeting held in Saint Petersburg on 3 April discussed matters related to the establishment of joint breeding and genetics centers with a view to reducing the import of pedigree stock. The countries of Europe are facing serious animal health problems, including avian flu, African swine fever, bluetongue disease and other diseases. This is unsafe for our country, so we should preserve what we have achieved in livestock farming, he emphasized.

The breeding and genetics centers will likely be set up at the research agencies of the two countries. Plans have been made to establish centers for dairy cattle breeding, pig breeding, and broiler farming. We should preserve our potential in genetics and animal breeding, Leonid Zayats said.

The minister noted that the matter will be discussed at the session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State to be held in Russia in the near future.

See original here:
Belarus, Russia plan to set up joint breeding and genetics centers - Belarus News (BelTA)

WHILE most Australian dairy farms are bull-free zones relying entirely on artificial insemination to impregnate their cows, AI in beef herds is also growing in both seedstock and commercial herds.

Despite a significant seedstock operation like Lawsons Angus leading the way by being 100 percent AI and ET reliant in conceptions, bulls remain dominant for calf getting in many stud and commercial beef herds.

Beef breed organisations are encouraging use of AI and embryo transfer to fast-track genetic improvement and improve linkages between herds to enhance selection intensity.

When superior genetics are identified, artificial breeding can replicate them at a much faster rate than by natural service where a bull may leave 50 calves a year. Through AI, a bull of superior genetic merit can produce thousands of offspring.

Thehumorous old adage, No one has ever been gored by an inseminator highlights the differences between natural and artificial mating.

Angus leads the way in artificial breeding in the Australian seedstock industry, with around 55 percent of its 75,000 calves recorded in all registers last year the product of AI and ET breeding.

Based on an average price of $50/straw for semen and $20/cow for fixed-time sychronised inseminations and a 60pc conception rate, Australias stud Angus breeders spent $5 million last year on AI programs, and sold more than 8000 artificially-bred bulls for around $56 million.

Semen companies in Australia market imported and domestic beef sire semen on 50-50 ratio from Angus-dominated catalogues.

While some artificial breeding companies buy bulls, many are leased from their breeders, health checked and collected under registered conditions and often returned to the owners when sufficient straws are in the can.

One instance of a company buying into a top bull was ABS, as a member of a syndicate that spent $150,000 on a highly-credentialed bull at the 2015 Millah Murrah Angus sale.

Industry veteran Bill Cornell of ABS said that 60pc of ABSs Angus semen sales were to seedstock producers, while 40pc went to commercial Angus breeders.

There is money to be made in the semen industry.

Last month Reiland Angus and a commercial producer sold a semen share in Reiland Hilary H874 to New Zealand for $25,000. At the 2016 Wagyu conference, a package of 10 straws of semen from a Mayura Fullblood Wagyu bull sold for $30,500 or $3050.straw to a United Kingdom buyer. The doner sire sits in the top 1pc of Wagyus Fullblood terminal Index (FTI).

Other breeds have not utilised AI as much as Angus, with the average registrations of AI calves in the Wagyu herd book for the past three years has been 18pc AI, 8pc ET and 74pc natural. In the Hereford breed in 2016, 19pc of calves were the results of AI while 2pc were from ET.

Hereford Australias CEO Dr Alex Ball said increased use of AI and ET would bring more selection intensity to the breed, and pointed to the imminent introduction of Single Step Genomics as a great move for the industry. Earlier and more accurate EBVs will result.

While widespread use of AI can potentially magnify recessive conditions in bulls, if they exist, DNA testing for these conditions has dramatically lowered that risk.

All Angus semen donor sires are tested free or free by pedigree of known recessive conditions, according to Angus Australias Andrew Byrne.

A trend has been towards more expensive sexed semen. In the beef industrys current herd rebuilding stage, female sexed semen is the most popular.

An 87pc heifer drop can be expected from female sexed semen, service providers suggest. An added benefit is the ease of calving when sexed female semen is used over maiden heifers.

The beef industry is still playing catch-up with the dairy industry in genetic discovery and herd improvement.

In the Holstein Australia herd book, around 75pc of the calves are by AI. The use of genomics in the Holstein population means that an eight weeks old calf can have high accuracy performance figures.

Alta Genetics has made an innovative move to provide tropical breed genetics to the world by breeding bos Indicus semen in Canada, where cattle live in snow for parts of the year.

Alta identified a demand for South American bos Indicus cattle which cant be exported directly from those countries. As a result, they have imported South American embryos into Canada and bred bulls to produce semen which is now exported to tropical countries world-wide.

Next week: We explore more issues surrounding the use of artificial breeding in beef.

More:
Weekly genetics review: Artificial breeding gathering momentum - Beef Central

Market Summary Follow

NewLink Genetics Corporation is a A biopharmaceutical company

NLNK - Market Data & News

NLNK - Stock Valuation Report

NewLink Genetics Corporation (NLNK) had a rough trading day for Tuesday April 04 as shares tumbled 9.96%, or a loss of $-2.3 per share, to close at $20.79. After opening the day at $19.46, shares of NewLink Genetics Corporation traded as high as $21.60 and as low as $16.39. Volume was 4.55 million shares over 25,830 trades, against an average daily volume of 322,298 shares and a total float of 29.22 million.

As a result of the decline, NewLink Genetics Corporation now has a market cap of $607.47 million. In the last year, shares of NewLink Genetics Corporation have traded between a range of $25.17 and $9.23, and its 50-day SMA is currently $17.14 and 200-day SMA is $13.04.

For a complete fundamental analysis of NewLink Genetics Corporation, check out Equities.coms Stock Valuation Analysis report for NLNK.

Want to invest with the experts? Subscribe to Equities Premium newsletters today! Visit http://www.equitiespremium.com/ to learn more about Guild Investments Market Commentary and Adam Sarhans Find Leading Stocks today.

NewLink Genetics Corp is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on discovering, developing and commercializing immunotherapeutic products to improve treatment options for patients with cancer.

NewLink Genetics Corporation is based out of Ames, IA and has some 122 employees. Its CEO is Charles J. Link.

NewLink Genetics Corporation is a component of the Russell 2000. The Russell 2000 is one of the leading indices tracking small-cap companies in the United States. It's maintained by Russell Investments, an industry leader in creating and maintaining indices, and consists of the smallest 2000 stocks from the broader Russell 3000 index.

Russell's indices differ from traditional indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or S&P 500, whose members are selected by committee, because they base membership entirely on an objective, rules based methodology. The 3,000 largest companies by market cap make up the Russell 3000, with the 2,000 smaller companies making up the Russell 2000. It's a simple approach that gives a broad, unbiased look at the small-cap market as a whole.

To get more information on NewLink Genetics Corporation and to follow the companys latest updates, you can visit the companys profile page here: NLNKs Profile. For more news on the financial markets and emerging growth companies, be sure to visit Equities.coms Newsdesk. Also, dont forget to sign-up for our daily email newsletter to ensure you dont miss out on any of our best stories.

All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30PM ET.

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Excerpt from:
NewLink Genetics Corporation (NLNK) Plunges 9.96% on April 04 - Equities.com

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) Cancer Genetics and Mendel Health announced today that they have formed a strategic alliance to combine their respective cancer clinical trial matching platforms.

Under the terms of the deal, the companies will incorporate Mendel's deep-learning engine called Mendel.ai in CGI's disease-focused reports and testing results. An initial version of the system is expected to be available to early-access partners in the second quarter of this year, with a wider rollout later in 2017, they said.

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Cancer Genetics, Mendel Health Partner on Clinical Trial Matching Tech - GenomeWeb