New technologies are sexy if they meet three criteria: they open doors to new and wonderful things, they are disruptive, and they are profitable. Genomics has proven its worth in the dairy industry, helping to triple milk production. But the beef industry may not be ready to follow suit. Here’s why.
News
Government of Canada and partners invest $24 million in genomics research to further innovation in health, agriculture and environment sectors
December 1, 2017Government of Canada and partners invest more than $24 million in genomics research projects to improve cancer treatments and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Canada and China partnering to develop diagnostics tests for preterm birth
November 30, 2017BGI and Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, part of Sinai Health System, awarded investment from Genome Canada and Ontario Genomics PRESS RELEASE – Shenzhen, China and Toronto, Canada, November 30, 2017 ‒ BGI and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, part of Sinai Health System, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining their intention to…
Gene therapy creates replacement skin to save dying boy
November 21, 2017Doctors in Europe used gene therapy to grow sheets of health skin that saved the life of a boy with a rare genetic disease that had destroyed most of his skin.
Genetic carrier screening should be recommended for all couples planning a family
November 20, 2017New research from Australia has shown that the combined affected pregnancy rate of cystic fibrosis, fragile X syndrome and spinal muscular atrophy is comparable to the population risk for Down syndrome. This highlights the need to offer carrier screening routinely, not just to those individuals with a family history.
Ontario Genomics invests in antibody protein sequencing company Rapid Novor
November 15, 2017Ontario Genomics has closed an investment in Rapid Novor, a Kitchener-Waterloo based biotech company that provides rapid, accurate, de novo protein sequencing services across Canada and internationally. This was another investment from the 2017 round of the Pre-commercial Business Development Fund (PBDF), which supports commercially promising ‘omics technologies. To date, Rapid Novor has offered monoclonal…
Why precision research may lead to blockbuster, not customized, medicines
November 7, 2017The appeal of precision medicine is the promise that we can understand disease with greater specificity and fashion treatments that are more individualized and more effective. A core tenet is that diseases such as type 2 diabetes may be a compilation of many subgroups, and that we can develop distinct treatments for each. But, at least outside of oncology, could there be an alternate tenet?
Non-permanent RNA editing
November 6, 2017MIT scientists have engineered a new molecular system for efficiently editing RNA in human cells. Unlike the permanent changes to the genome required for DNA editing with CRISPR/Cas9, RNA editing is a potentially reversible way to make corrections in the cell, for instance as a treatment for rare diseases.
World’s largest autism genome databank adds more than 2,000 sequences
November 3, 2017The Autism Speaks MSSNG team announced the upload of an additional 2,030 fully sequenced genomes to the project’s cloud-based databank – making it the world’s largest whole genome resource for autism research. The MSSNG team includes Dr. Stephen Scherer and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Autism Speaks and Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences).
Ontario Genomics invests in renewable chemicals
November 1, 2017Ontario Genomics is pleased to announce its investment in Ardra Inc. via its Pre-Commercial Business Development Fund. Ardra is a specialty chemicals company focused on the production of natural ingredients for the cosmetics and flavour and fragrance industries. Their synthetic biology platform uses designer biochemical pathways to produce a large portfolio of high-value products. Ardra’s development pipeline…