Category Archives: Genetics

Genetics will aid tomato taste – Fruitnet

January 24, 2020 medical

A University of Florida (UF) tomato expert has called on researchers worldwide to use genetics to help farmers grow tastier tomatoes in many geographic locations.

Consumers crave tasty tomatoes, but the trick comes in growing flavourful fruit in different environments, said UF professor emeritus Jay Scott.

I am proposing a worldwide approach involving public and private breeding programs that one day might make dissatisfaction with tomato flavour obsolete, said Scott, who gave a presentation at the Tomato Breeders Roundtable and Tomato Disease Workshop in November in Clearwater, Florida.

In a recent follow-up interview, Scott recommended scientists use genetic markers genes that are tightly associated with various traits to efficiently breed tomatoes that are more likely to appeal to consumers taste buds. Furthermore, researchers must develop more flavourful fruit in various types of soil and weather conditions, he said.

According to Scott, weather and other conditions constitute 'different environments' specifically, various soils, irrigation, rain, fertilisation programs and temperature, among other factors.

For example, a tomato that tastes good in Florida may taste even better if grown in Mississippi because Floridas soils are not as good as those in Mississippi, he explained.

Theres a huge environmental effect on flavour in tomatoes, Scott said. You may not get the same flavour in different places. The big trick is to get an environmentally stable good flavour.

Scott has spent more than 30 years as a tomato breeder at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, Florida, east of Tampa, during which time he has released many different tomato varieties.

We should test material around the world, he said. This approach would involve a whole bunch of people. Everybodys input would be helpful. Plus, I like the international cooperation aspect.

At UF/IFAS, assistant professor Sam Hutton is developing several flavourful tomato varieties. Other scientists around the world are developing similar types of tomatoes.

Scott has encouraged them to share seeds of those new types of tomatoes to grow and taste in their fields and labs, allowing scientists to find out if, for example, tomatoes developed in California taste good in Asia, Africa or South America.

Heres the thing: When people go to the grocery store, theyre not necessarily going there with the goal of buying the tastiest tomatoes, Scott said. They go to the store and buy tomatoes, thinking, Im making a salad tonight or Im making tacos tonight. Commercial tomatoes get a bad rap because people compare them to home garden tomatoes that dont have to be packed and shipped. We want to change that perception.

In my career, there has been a dissatisfaction among consumers with the flavour of commercial tomatoes, Scott outlined. Were trying to make it so that in the future, people think, tomatoes taste good and wonder why there used to be dissatisfaction with them.

I have long had a hypothesis that if I could develop a tomato variety with flavour that everyone liked, then all the problems in the world would be resolved," he added. "Although this might sound absurd, there is still no evidence against the hypothesis because there are always some that dont like the flavour. If the proposed research is carried out, then I would keep the hypothesis but change the I to we."

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Genetics

Scientists uncover genetic information of what keeps us healthy – News-Medical.net

January 24, 2020 medical

Genetics plays a role in the overall health and well-being of humans. Genes provide instructions for making proteins, which help determine the structure and function of each cell in the body. Aside from determining the characteristics inherited, genes have been linked to many diseases. Scientists have determined the genetic information of health.

A team of researchers aimed to better understand the disease process and the role of genes in disease development. To do this, they need to study the genomics of health, or how these genes influence what keeps us healthy.

For the first time, the team, who were from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, collated a genome reference of thousands of healthy Australians, who were between 64 and 95 years old. The study may help predict gene variants more accurately than methods in the past.

The findings of the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, included the first 2,570 genomes of the Medical Genome Reference Bank (MGRD), which is a combination of two studies, the ASPREE study and the Sax Institutes 45 and Up Study.

With a comprehensive analysis of healthy people, the researchers were able to provide a clear understanding of which genes are linked to disease, and which are not. The researchers believe that the MGRB will give a good and ideal baseline for genomic studies in the future.

No two persons are alike, and the same is true when it comes to their genetic makeup. Every individual has about 6 billion DNA letters encoded in their genome, which are tied to all the information vital for cellular processes in the body. In fact, between two unrelated individuals, there are millions of single-letter variations or differences.

These variations in the genome make people unique and different, but some of these differences can lead to disease. Hence, the researchers wanted to identify which genes make people sick and which do not.

By studying about 2,570 healthy adults in Australia, who were free from diseases such as neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer until the age of at least 70, the researchers have a new baseline and a more statistically powerful framework to identify disease-causing gene variants.

For example, the team studied genomes of prostate cancer patients and discovered that by using the MGRB as a control, it provided a 25-percent higher predictive power of disease-linked gene variants, than other genome databases.

The researchers used whole-genome sequencing to determine the biological age from DNA and to detect changes tied to aging, such as less mitochondrial DNA, caps at the end of chromosomes, or having shorter telomeres.

The amount of mitochondrial DNA, which codes for the energy generators of cells, has been linked to higher grip strength in men. The scientists were able to find certain genome changes that could distinguish between healthy older adults that share the same age but have varying physical function. The findings of the study hint that the DNA in a persons blood sample may provide a marker for their biological age than their chronological age.

The ability to derive a measure of biological age may better predict health outcomes for individuals. As our population ages, understanding the genetic basis for healthy aging will become more and more important," Professor David Thomas, Garvan Cancer Research Theme Leader and Director of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, said.

The MGRB will contain genomic information from more than 4,000 older adults in Australia once its completed.

Journal reference:

Pinese, M., Lacaze, P., Rath, E.M. et al. The Medical Genome Reference Bank contains whole genome and phenotype data of 2570 healthy elderly. Nat Commun 11, 435 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-14079-0, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14079-0

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Scientists uncover genetic information of what keeps us healthy - News-Medical.net

Genetics

DNA Collection at the Border Threatens the Privacy of All Americans – The New York Times

January 24, 2020 medical

What if the United States government took the DNA of vast numbers of Americans for use without their consent? The Trump administration has just brought us one step closer to that dystopia. On January 6, the federal government began collecting DNA from any person in immigration custody previously, it had required only fingerprints. With this move, the federal government took a decisive step toward collecting and tracking large numbers of its citizens genetic information too.

The federally administered CODIS, or Combined DNA Index System, has expanded dramatically in scope since its inception. Virginia established the first forensic DNA database in 1989, with the federal government following suit in 1994. Today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government collect, store and share genetic information through CODIS. Initially, many states limited DNA collection to sex offenders. But today, nearly all states compel DNA from all convicted felons, while many states collect DNA from individuals convicted of mere misdemeanors. Most states also collect DNA from some individuals merely arrested on charges of, but not yet convicted of, a crime.

The Supreme Court blessed the expansion to arrests in Maryland v. King, a narrowly divided 2013 decision, over a furious dissenting opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, three years before his death. Justice Scalias opinion railed against the civil rights implications of expanding CODIS in this way. The Trump administrations recent immigration policy is the latest development in a worrying trend of escalating DNA surveillance.

Despite these significant expansions in CODIS, one constant has remained: Until now, CODISs crime-solving components have contained genetic profiles only of individuals connected with criminal activity, whether accused or convicted. Now, for the first time, CODIS will warehouse the genetic data of people who have not been accused of any crime, for crime detection purposes. Noncitizens in immigration custody are not criminals as a rule. The vast majority of immigration infractions that land an immigrant in detention are civil in nature, akin to the I.R.S. asking a citizen to pay a penalty when she fails to withhold enough money from her paycheck. And in the case of refugees seeking asylum (a large and increasing proportion of the detained noncitizen population), international and domestic law expressly allow these individuals to enter the United States to claim the right to refuge. By severing the longstanding prerequisite of prior (alleged) criminal conduct for compelled DNA collection, the government puts us all at risk.

How we treat the people that cross our borders speaks to our identity as a nation. Immigrants are Americans of the future and the criteria we use to select or bar immigrants reflect our aspirations for the society we wish to become. The new DNA collection program may yet revive darker, eugenic impulses in immigration history. Modern, quota-based immigration law was born of a desire to improve the quality of Americas racial stock by drastically limiting immigration from peoples scientifically believed to be less intelligent than other groups. Italians and other southern European immigrants, for example, were granted fewer visas based on this false science.

It is a small leap from requiring immigrants to submit their DNA to verify familial relationships, or to mitigate future criminal risk (the pretexts the government has cited to justify its recent policy change) to requiring DNA screening of immigrants for health, disability, intelligence or disease. These screens for fitness likely based on questionable science could ultimately be used to deny entry into the United States or, if discovered later, as a basis for expulsion. Regardless of reliability we would not support genetic screening for fitness. Courts have usually failed to protect immigrants from such impulses, so it is up to citizens to learn from this history and decide that building a society this way is unacceptable.

More broadly, once you break the norm requiring criminal conduct for inclusion in CODIS, it is difficult to re-establish. That is why many civil rights groups have long objected to forced mass collection even in criminal contexts. In arguing that collecting DNA from arrestees should be unconstitutional, the ACLU, Electronic Freedom Foundation and others have worried about precisely this shift from forced criminal DNA collection to forced DNA collection from law-abiding individuals. With every expansion in CODISs reach, the government has shown that these concerns about eroding privacy were well placed.

The Supreme Court justices who dissented in Maryland v. King saw this threat clearly as well. Justice Scalias dissenting opinion foresaw the construction of a genetic panopticon, a DNA watchtower that the government could use to monitor all of its people. This new immigration policy moves us toward completion of that dystopian tool: a genetic database that will ultimately encompass anyone within United States borders, including ordinary Americans neither convicted nor even suspected of criminal conduct.

History has repeatedly shown that freedom from the governments prying eyes is essential for liberty. Resistance to government overreach has relied on the governments less-than-perfect ability to identify and discipline its subjects. The Constitution takes this as a bedrock principal, with the Fourth Amendment forbidding the government from engaging in unreasonable searches and seizures.

Anonymity can be of real social value. Being able to stay unknown enables people to do important things, like protest the government. If the government has the genetic profiles of all Americans, it may be able to trace us wherever we go. That raises significant constitutional and other concerns even if accurately deployed. Among other possible misuses, such a comprehensive DNA database would empower the White House to crack down on civil protest or monitor political critics and opponents.

And what if the government gets things wrong? A comprehensive DNA database may lead law enforcement to lean even more heavily on genetic technology. But forensic genetics can point to the wrong suspect. A contaminated specimen of crime scene DNA might well result in a false match. Counterintuitively, as DNA analysis becomes more sensitive, forensic genetic analysis may be more likely to falsely implicate a person in a crime. We constantly shed our DNA, and it can travel from place to place on the objects we touch. In the future, simply sneezing somewhere that becomes a crime scene could be enough to make you a suspect. As with many other forms of data collection, the more complete the information database, the more suffocating, dehumanizing and potentially totalitarian the society.

We as Americans should take heed of how these quiet expansions in genetic surveillance may threaten our democratic way of life. The courts and Congress have been largely complicit in amplifying these threats to individual and collective liberty. It will be up to citizens themselves to make clear to those who wield power in their names that they do not wish to live under the gaze of a genetic panopticon.

Daniel I. Morales is an immigration law theorist and a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Natalie Ram is a genetic privacy scholar and an associate professor of law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Jessica L. Roberts is a bioethicist and law professor who specializes in peoples legal rights in their genetic data. She is the director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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DNA Collection at the Border Threatens the Privacy of All Americans - The New York Times

Genetics

GyanSys Selected by AgReliant Genetics as the Primary Partner for Their Implementation of SAP S/4HANA as Part of Their Digital Transformation – Yahoo…

January 24, 2020 medical

CARMEL, Ind., Jan. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --AgReliant Genetics, a leader in seed research, production and provider of seed solutions, signed a contract with GyanSys Inc. ("GyanSys"), a leading IT services provider headquartered in Indiana, to implementSAP S/4HANA on HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC) as part of their digital transformation journey to replace their legacy ERP systems.

Steve Thompson, CIO of AgReliant Genetics "GyanSys led our team to conduct S/4HANA Best Practice workshops, gap analysis, and recommended the right SAP software bill-of-materials. AgReliant is excited to start our digital transformation journey partnering with GyanSys to build a scalable digital core for our Finance, Purchasing, Planning, Sales, Manufacturing, and Warehouse Management systems."

Rajkishore Una, President & CEO of GyanSys "GyanSys is committed to successfully deliver AgReliant Genetics' new SAP environment with our global delivery approach and our best practice-led implementation methodology. We are bringing our expertise in SAP S/4HANA digital core, alongside BPC, EWM, aATP, Manufacturing for Planning & Scheduling, and Analytics Cloud, for AgReliant to derive the most value from this strategic investment."

About AgReliant Genetics:

AgReliant Genetics offers corn, soybean, sorghum, and alfalfa seed solutions to farmers through their product brands. Contact your local AgriGold, LG Seeds, or PRIDE Seeds representative for more information.

Learn more about AgReliant Geneticsat http://www.agreliantgenetics.com.

About GyanSys Inc.:

GyanSys is a mid-tier global systems integrator specializing in SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft, and ServiceNow Platforms to improve the Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Operations, and HR business processes to support digital transformation.

Headquartered in Indiana, GyanSys was founded in 2005 and has approximately 1,000+ professionals globally serving 125+ customers across various industries, including the manufacturing, automotive, high-tech, CPG, and life sciences industries.

For more information about GyanSys, visit http://www.gyansys.com.

For press inquiries and more information, contact:Cliff SaitoDigital Marketing ManagerE-mail: cliff.saito@gyansys.com

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David Hogness, Revolutionary of 20th Century Genetics, Dies – The Scientist

January 22, 2020 medical

David Hogness

courtesy stanford medicine

David Hogness, a biochemist, geneticist, and developmental biologist at Stanford University, died at his home on December 24. He was 94 years old.

Hogness is well known for a series of experiments during the 1970s and 1980s that were instrumental in launching both molecular genetics and genomics, according to a university statement.

His lab brought molecular biology to Drosophila, discovered the first core promotor element in eukaryotes, cloned the Hox genes, studied the basis of steroid hormone signaling, the list goes on and on. He was a giant, says biologist Mark Peifer of the University of North Carolina in a tweet.

Hogness was born in Oakland, California, on November 17, 1925, and grew up in Chicago. In 1949, he received his bachelors degree in chemistry from Caltech, where he also earned his PhD in biology and chemistry in 1952.

While a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis, Hogness studied bacteriophage lambda and created the first physical maps of genes along DNA, according to the statement. He joined Stanfords newly formed biochemistry department in 1959, and during a sabbatical in 1968, shifted his focus to Drosophila.

In a 1972 grant proposal, Hogness described the concept of chromosomal walkingnow known as positional cloninga technological breakthrough that many consider to be the founding of genomics, according to Stanfords statement.Hognesss 1975 paper published in PNAS detailed colony hybridization, a novel method of isolating cloned DNA. Three years later, Hogness discovered the Goldberg-Hogness box, now called the TATA box, a non-coding promoter sequence where transcription is initiated in archaea and eukaryotes (prokaryotes have a homolog called the Pribnow box). Another landmark study published in the early 1980s demonstrated the ability to clone the gene underlying any genetic trait, and simultaneously proved there were genes specifically devoted to regulating normal development, says Richard Lifton, the president of Rockefeller University and a former student of Hogness, in the press release. Its one of the great papers in the history of biology.

Daves genius was to realize that the recombinant DNA technologies newly developed at Stanford, which allowed researchers to isolate and replicate to very high copy numbers distinct segments of DNA, could be used to map the locations of the DNA segments to specific bands on the polytene chromosomes, developmental biologist Philip Beachy says in the statement.

Hognesss awards include the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology in 1997, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for Developmental Biology in 2002, the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal in 2003, and the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize in 2013.

Hogness is survived by his sons.

Amy Schleunes is an intern atThe Scientist. Email her ataschleunes@the-scientist.com.

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David Hogness, Revolutionary of 20th Century Genetics, Dies - The Scientist

Genetics

Quest Diagnostics Acquires Blueprint Genetics to Broaden Access to Actionable Insights for Genetic and Rare Diseases – P&T Community

January 22, 2020 medical

SECAUCUS, N.J. and HELSINKI, Finland, Jan. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced that it has acquired Blueprint Genetics in an all-cash equity transaction. Blueprint Genetics is a leading specialty genetic testing company with deep expertise in gene variant interpretation based on next generation sequencing (NGS) and proprietary bioinformatics. Together, Quest and Blueprint Genetics will broaden access to actionable insights in genetic and rare diseases, improving patient care and pharmaceutical drug research and development. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"The great challengewithgenetic testingisgeneratingquality,actionable and broadly accessible insights from vast quantities of sequenced genetic data," said Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, President and CEO, Quest Diagnostics. "Blueprint Genetics has developed a proven modelfor deliveringhighly specializedgenetic insightsthat we believe we can scale toservenew patient populations with unmet clinical needs.The addition of Blueprint Geneticsstrengthensand extends the Questvalue proposition ingenetics,delivering on our Accelerate growth strategyand vision of a healthier world."

Founded in 2012, Blueprint Genetics grew rapidly, and now serves customers in over 70 countries. The company's growth is based largely on proprietary guideline-supported methods of gene variant interpretation of data generated from next generation sequencing, backed by high-touch consultative service. The company provides 3,900 targeted single gene and over 200 panel tests spanning 14 medical specialties. Gene variant interpretation involves identifying associations between gene variants and disease or treatment response.

Blueprint Genetics has increased its focus and presence in the United States through a recently established hub facility in Seattle, Washington. The acquisition provides a platform for Blueprint Genetics to leverage Quest's capabilities in next generation sequencing and national infrastructure serving half the health systems and physicians in the United States. Blueprint Genetics is expected to continue to operate largely independently from its base laboratory in Helsinki, Finland, and a presence in other countries.

Through its Advanced Diagnostics offerings, Quest specializes in combining state-of-the-art technologies, such as next generation sequencing, with higher-order interpretative expertise and digital customer enablement. Blueprint Genetics brings to Quest high-touch service in variant interpretation and reporting and associated sequencing and bioinformatics, which complement and extend its existing genetics leadership.

"As the leader in Advanced Diagnostics, Quest Diagnostics understands that robust bioinformatics and consultative expertise are essential to fast, accurate and cost-efficient data interpretation," said Carrie Eglinton Manner, Senior Vice President, Advanced Diagnostics, Quest Diagnostics. "Blueprint Genetics brings to Quest a proven platform in specialty genetics -- especially gene variant interpretation and reporting -- that powerfully differentiates our Advanced Diagnostics offering."

Over time, the acquisition is expected to yield new capabilities to serve providers specializing in rare disease and neurology, particularly pediatric and academic hospitals. The two organizations also envision that members of the Quest Diagnostics Global Diagnostic Network and its pharmaceutical and in vitro diagnostic collaborators will benefit from Blueprint Genetics' capabilities.

"Blueprint Genetics prides itself on resolving the most challenging genetic and rare disease cases to improve patient outcomes," said TommiLehtonen, who has agreed to continue to lead the company as Vice President and General Manager, reporting to Ms. Eglinton Manner. "Teaming up with Quest will allow us to extend our capabilities in the United States as well as in Canada and other countries where we already have strong and growing client relationships. While we considered joining forces with several organizations, Quest's genetics leadership, national infrastructure and strong cultural fit made it the perfect partner from which to extend our reach to new providers and patients."

Genetic testing can aid in diagnosing many rare diseases as well as identifying future risk of and treatment for certain cancers and other conditions. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7,000 rare diseases exist and as many as 30 million Americans have a rare disease.

About Quest DiagnosticsQuest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 46,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/quest-diagnostics-acquires-blueprint-genetics-to-broaden-access-to-actionable-insights-for-genetic-and-rare-diseases-300990571.html

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics

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Quest Diagnostics Acquires Blueprint Genetics to Broaden Access to Actionable Insights for Genetic and Rare Diseases - P&T Community

Genetics

Seattle Genetics Up More Than 40% in the Past Year: Here’s Why – Yahoo Finance

January 22, 2020 medical

Shares of Seattle Genetics, Inc. SGEN have surged 48% in the past year against the industrys decline of 3.5%.

Solid performance of its lead marketed drug Adcetris and the recent approval of Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) might have been driving the stock price of late. Other pipeline candidates are also making good progress.

Adcetris is approved for relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma and relapsed systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) in the United States, the EU and Japan. The drug generated sales of $461.5 million in the first nine months of 2019, reflecting a year-over-year surge of 34%.

Improved sales of the drug were owing to its label expansions for frontline CD30-expressing PTCL and frontline HL.

In December 2019, the FDA granted accelerated approval to Padcev for the treatment of patients with advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer, who had received treatment with both a checkpoint inhibitor (PD-1/PD-L1) and platinum-based chemotherapy.

Following this nod, Padcev became the first FDA approved drug for treating the given patient population.

Notably, the nod came much before the scheduled Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of Mar 15, 2020. The company is developing Padcev in collaboration with Japanese partner Astellas Pharma, Inc.

The approval for Padcev should reduce Seattle Genetics heavy dependence on Adcetris and significantly boost its top line in the future quarters.

Apart from Adcetris and Padcev, the companys other antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidates including tucatinib, tisotumab vedotin, ladiratuzumab vedotin and SEA-BCMA are progressing well.

Notably, last month, Seattle Genetics and Astellas signed a collaboration agreement with pharma giant Merck MRK to begin a phase III study on the combination of Padcev and the latters PD-1/L1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to address patients with previously untreated metastatic urothelial cancer.

Also, in the same period, Seattle Genetics submitted a new drug application (NDA) to the FDA for its oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor tucatinib in combination with Roche's RHHBY Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Xeloda (capecitabine). The company is seeking approval for tucatinib combo to treat patients with locally advanced/metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer including those with brain metastases who have received at least three prior HER2-directed agents separately or in combination in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant or metastatic setting.

However, sole reliance on Adcetris, which constitutes majority of the company's top line, remains a concern. It is also to be seen whether the newly-approved Padcev is able to make an impact and drive revenues in the long run.

Seattle Genetics, Inc. Price

Seattle Genetics, Inc. price | Seattle Genetics, Inc. Quote

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Seattle Genetics Up More Than 40% in the Past Year: Here's Why - Yahoo Finance

Genetics

Red Angus Genetics – AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST – AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

January 22, 2020 medical

Its so funny how good things can occur if you keep your ears open. The other night I was at the butcher counter in a local grocery store when I overheard two people talking about issues involving beef packaging and marketing. It turns out that one of them, named Logan Peters works for Agribeef in Boise and the other named Katie Ochsner is a marketing specialist for the Red Angus Association. We had a nice chat and I asked Katie specifically what she did. This time of year, our marketing team is traveling to a lot of bull sales which we attend all over the United States in order to promote our marketing programs. We generally give a pre-sale speech and then just interact with the commercial producers that are there buying in order to inform them about how they can use red Angus genetics in combination with our marketing programs to bring premiums for their calves. We have an age source and genetics verification program called the feeder calf certification program. As long as they are using registered bulls and the calves are at least 50% red Angus genetics, they can qualify for that program.

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Red Angus Genetics - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST - AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

Genetics

Genetic risk markers and misrepresentation – The Medium

January 22, 2020 medical

The Medium recently had the chance to sit down with Dr. EstebanParra, a molecular anthropologist and anthropology professor at the Universityof Toronto Mississauga (UTM).

Parra has hada long and far-reaching journey in science which began in one of the oldestuniversities in Spain, the University of Santiago de Compostela. He began hisstudies in biology and like many students everywhere [he] discovered what [hewas] really passionate about while completing his undergraduate degree.

For Parra, thediscovered passion was anthropology and genetics. After completing his Ph.D.degree, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at a molecular anthropology labin Spain. He was also a post-doctoral fellow in Rome, Italy, and Pittsburgh,USA, before joining UTM in 2002. Parra advises those interested in graduatestudies to be willing to follow the opportunities that arise. For him, it hasbeen incredibly exciting to see how the UTM campus has changed and grown inthe past seventeen years. We have been attracting incredible new faculty, notonly to anthropology but to many other programs, which has been nice to see,he says.

Parra hascontinued his research at UTM. One of the focuses of his research is toidentify some of the genetic risk markers of traits and diseases such asobesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. This is doneusing a genome wide association study to identify variants that are associatedwith these traits. Parra uses a consortiaa large group of samplesto haveaccess to as much data as possible. The more samples there are, the higherchance there is of finding a common link between the genetics of an individualand the ailments they suffer from.

Parra doesmention that genetics are often not the only cause. For diseases such as cysticfibrosis, ones genes are the primary factor in causing the condition. Thesediseases are termed Mendelian disorders. However, for complex conditions likeobesity and diabetes, ones environment and lifestyle play a huge role.Modifications in your lifestyle, your diet, and physical activity, are thebest way to combat conditions such as obesity and diabetes, said Parra.

An excitingdevelopment Parra is looking forward to is the advancement of precisionmedicine. Precision medicineor personalized medicine as it is sometimesreferred tois when an individuals genetic profile can be used to develop atailor-made treatment program for the individual. Precision medicine is a newfield because it has only recently been made possible by technologicaladvancements, which have also lowered the cost of genetic studies dramatically,and, in turn, opened many doors in the field of genetics.

Parraemphasizes the importance of collecting as much data as possible. The best wayto approach this is to collaborate with other scientists [] there are somestudies that are done with many participating research groups, and they havebeen able to use samples of up to a million individuals.

One of theadvantages of collecting a large number of samples is balanced representationof diverse ethnic groups, which for Parra is very important. He explains thatgenetic studies in the past have primarily been conducted in European countrieswhich is problematic for the future of precision medicine. When you primarilywork in just one population group, it may not be as helpful for the rest of theworld, he says.

In fact, foralmost all non-European groups, underrepresentation is a significant issuewhich is only improving slowly. Underrepresentation can be attributed to avariety of factors such as biasness and the location of the research groups whogenerally choose to perform their research in their own areas. Parra encouragesthose conducting research to overcome these factors since it is absolutelycritical to do more studies and represent these groups.

Parra hascontributed in his own right to the growth of the sample pool. One of thestudies he participated in was part of a large collaboration with researchersfrom around the world. Together, the researchers collected samples from overeighteen thousand individuals of various ethnicities. Since very few studieshad been previously conducted on non-European populations, they focused onlooking for genetic markers of obesity in children. Ultimately, they discovereda new locusa fixed position on a chromosome where a genetic marker is located.The locus they had discovered had not been found in significant numbers inpurely European groups, but appeared consistently in the diverse sample pool,exemplifying the need for more diverse sources.

Despite theshortcomings, Parra is hopeful about the future of the field and its growth. Heencourages greater awareness of the disparity of samples and urges efforts torectify the misrepresentation. He is immensely passionate about anthropologyand genetics and finishes off by stating, DNA is an open bookyou just need toknow how to read it.

Genetics

Cobb-Vantress appoints genetics executive – The Poultry Site

January 19, 2020 medical

Today, Cobb-Vantress appointed Dr Mark Cooper as managing director of genetics to oversee the companys global genetic program. Effective immediately, Dr Cooper will continue work to achieve genetic gains and competitive advantage through alignment of Cobbs breeding program with its product strategy, developing a portfolio of products to meet growing global market needs. He will report to Dr Aldo Rossi, vice president of research and development (R&D).

In his new role, Dr Cooper will lead a global, multifunctional team, including Dr Rachel Hawken, senior director of genetics; Dr Manouchehr Katanbaf, senior geneticist; and Dr Sriram Krishna, senior geneticist. Prior to this appointment, Dr Cooper previously worked as director of product testing. Since joining Cobb, he has also served as pedigree geneticist responsible for male line development, European director of genetics, director of genetics for all of Cobbs breeding programs, and director of product management.

Cobb has been dedicated to genetic research and the responsible use of technology for over 100 years, said Dr Rossi. Dr Cooper has made a big impact in his nearly 20 years with Cobb, and were looking forward to the continued advancements we expect him to accomplish in this new position.

In his time at Cobb, Dr Coopers research has focused on technology development and implementation in the breeding program, welfare parameters and meat quality. He has also spent time with global business leaders and customers to understand and update the R&D team on the product portfolio needed for the future. Most recently, he led Cobbs product testing team, helping to evaluate the companys product performance and development.

Im honored to take on the position of managing director of genetics, said Dr Cooper. Im fortunate because Cobb invests a significant percentage revenue into research and development, allowing us to continue leading the way in genetic progress.

Dr Cooper earned a bachelors degree in poultry science from Texas A&M University, a masters degree in poultry genetics from the University of Georgia, and a PhD in poultry genetics from the University of Arkansas.