A genetic test that more accurately predicts the risk of developing breast cancer could soon be used on high-risk groups. Researchers behind the test, available in England only at this time, say it could reduce the number of women choosing pre-emptive mastectomy surgery. The blood test looks at 18 genetic variations, or single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), known to affect the chances of getting breast cancer.
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GA4GH to collaborate with 15 international genomic medicine initiatives
October 23, 2017Advances in precision medicine depend on the ability to share genomic information voluntarily, securely and responsibly. To achieve this, The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) has struck formal collaborations with 15 international genomic data initiatives. Ontario and Canada lead or help drive at least three of these, CanDIG, ICGC-ARGO and Matchmaker Exchange. Genome Canada has also announced new operational funding for the GA4GH.
Supercluster shortlist announced
October 20, 2017The Liberal government has whittled down the list of contenders eligible for a piece of its $950-million “supercluster” program, an initiative to foster innovation and create jobs in five specialized hubs across the country. The nine finalists on the government’s short list include partnerships in ocean and digital technologies, artificial intelligence, transportation, manufacturing, mining, agri-food and infrastructure. Ontario Genomics is pleased to see genomics as a key enabling technology in several of the supercluster initiatives.
DNA deepens mystery of Newfoundland’s lost Beothuk people
October 19, 2017Ontario Genomics funded a project to help understand the complex origins of Canada, and the relatedness (or lack thereof in this case) between Maritime Archaic people and the Beothuk. The technology being developed by Hendrik Poinar’s group at McMaster University has kept them at the forefront of paleo-DNA technology. Poinar has leveraged this funding to secure funding from other sources, including Illumina. The surprising results of this study were published in Current Biology (Duggan et al., 2017, Current Biology 27, 1–8) and appeared in a recent Globe and Mail article
Ontario Genomics appoints three new board members
October 18, 2017The Chair of the Ontario Genomics Board of Directors, Brian Underdown, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Deb Stark, Dr. Benjamin Rovinski and Dr. Alan Winter to its Board. Dr. Stark is the former Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and brings a wealth of experience…
Gene silencing drug opens new era for rare genetic disease treatments
October 11, 2017Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. unveiled positive results from a late-stage clinical trial of the drug patisiran for the treatment of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy. Patisiran works by interrupting the production of a specific disease-causing protein through a process called RNA interference (RNAi), which eliminates unwanted proteins. Because RNAi can be easily tuned (in theory) to any disease, this may herald a new class of medicines.
AI startup Deep Genomics raises US$13M
October 10, 2017The founding principle of Toronto-based Deep Genomics is “that the future of medicine will rely on artificial intelligence (AI), because biology is too complex for humans to understand.” After success at the startup assistance program run by University of Toronto’s Creative Destruction Lab, Deep Genomics has now closed a Series A financing deal that will allow it apply AI to search across 69 billion molecules to identify 1000 potential drugs.
The making of a genomics strategy for the Ontario agriculture and agri-food sector
October 5, 2017On September 25th, 2017, Ontario Genomics, in partnership with the Synthesis Agri-Food Network and supported by Genome Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, held a workshop to discuss “The Genomics Strategy for the Ontario Agriculture and Agri-Food Sector”. Over 80 leaders from across Ontario’s diverse and strong agriculture and agri-food sector attended…
Ontario Genomics welcomes Canadian innovation leaders
October 5, 2017The past week saw the appointments of leaders in key positions across Canada’s and Ontario’s research and innovation ecosystem, including Canada’s Chief Science Advisor, CEO of MaRS Discovery District, and CEO of the newly created Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Bettina Hamelin, President and CEO of Ontario Genomics, would like to congratulate Dr. Mona…
Does your genome predict your face? Maybe not quite yet
September 27, 2017J. Craig Venter and Human Longevity published a paper making the bold claim that it can identify individuals using their genomes to predict what their faces looks like. But criticism over social media and BioRxiv has called this into question, or at least stated this technology needs more development before being robust enough to predict faces from genomes.