QuickBiology News

Multiplex detection is the test that numerous analyte targets and internal controls are conducted simultaneously in one reaction. In nucleic acid detection, the gold standard RT-qPCR is multiplexable, which uses the TaqMan method that each target probe is labeled by different fluorescence. The benefits of multiplexing not only reduce reaction costs by at least 50% but also give “self-calibrated” data as all analytes are conducted in the same reaction.Read More

The ongoing pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in the generation of hundreds of thousands of virus genome sequences, as of Feb 3, 2021, 468,000 sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from COVID-19 patients have been uploaded into public databases. A rational and dynamic virus nomenclature uses a phylogenetic framework to identify lineages. Read More

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health concern, especially in Asian countries due to antibiotic overuse. The mechanism of antibiotic resistance is complex but is generally grouped into three broad categories: target modification, drug inactivation, and drug transport. Read More

As people in the U.S. are receiving the vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the pandemic slows down. In many states, public schools plan back to normal. High throughput virus test before back to work, full day-in person school learning is critical for controlling any future spread of SARS-CoV-2.Read More

Liquid biopsy cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in human plasma provides access to molecular information about the pathological processes in individuals. cfDNA analysis is widely used for the assessment of fetus chromosomal aberrations, graft rejection, monitoring tumor dynamics, and targeted treatment (i.e, circulating tumor DNA). cfDNA originates from pathogenic or healthy organisms, the precise mechanism of cfDNA release is unclear. Upon cell death, the genome is fragmented into nucleosome-complex sizes (~150bp, ~300 bp, ~450 bp, about 150bp per Unit size). Read More

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated hundreds of thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human diseases and traits, but very few of them have been functionally characterized. Most of these disease or trait-associated SNPs are in the intron region (i.e., non-coding region) or intergenic region, which makes it harder to interpret whether they are true causal genetic sites or just hitch-hiking genetic variants. Read More

The Ubiquitin/Proteasome System (UPS) is a highly regulated mechanism of intracellular protein degradation and turnover, plays major roles in a variety of basic pathways during cell life and death. The UPS is also an attractive target for novel cancer therapies, however, the precise UPS genes and substrates important for cancer growth are not completely understood.Read More

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) accounts for about 15% of all intracranial tumors and about 60% of astrocytic tumors, it often occurs between the age of 45 and 70. Although it is rare, with the incidence of 2-3 new cases per 100,000 people in the United States and Europe, patients with GBM have a dismal prognosis, usually survive less than 15 months with standard-of-care therapy, and survival without treatment (at least surgery) is only 4-6 months. Previous work mainly focused on the role of genes on GBM survival or on the maintenance of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). Read More

Elucidating the regulatory mechanisms of human brain evolution is essential to understanding human cognition and mental disorders. The levels in the genomic sequence, gene expression, pre-mRNA splicing have been extensively studied between human and nonhuman primates. However, the chromatin structure---- this higher order of genome interaction map is less well known, especially across different primates’ species.Read More

The major challenge of third-generation sequencing (i.e. PacBio and Nanopore sequencing) is the high sequencing error rate, PacBio has 10-15% while Nanopore is 5-20%. Although Illumina allows rapid, cheap, and accurate sequencing, its short reads (usually < 300 bp) doesn’t enable complete genome assembly or intact full-length mRNA transcriptome analysis. Scientists have developed hybrid assembly pipelines by combing long-reads for contig formation and short-reads for nucleotide accuracy to improve de novo genome assembly.Read More