Molecular Diagnostics

Image: Staining of human cell line U-2 OS with fluorescently labeled SP110 antibody shows localization of the protein to the nucleus (Photo courtesy of Novus Biologicals).

New Assay Facilitates Diagnosis of Rare Infant Disease

A novel flow cytometric assay that is easily performed in diagnostic laboratories was developed to improve the ability to diagnose the rare syndrome, hepatic veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency (VODI). More...
05 Sep 2017

Image: Paper-based diagnostic device that detects biomarkers and identifies diseases by performing electrochemical analyses. The assays change color to indicate specific test results. The device can be plugged into the handheld potentiostat, at left (Photo courtesy of Purdue University, Aniket Pal).

Disposable POC Device Introduced for Low-Resource Areas

A recent paper described a novel diagnostic device fabricated from various types of paper to be used for point-of-care testing in areas lacking electricity and other resources. More...
05 Sep 2017

Test Detects Cancer Mutations from Circulating DNA

In cancer patients, apoptotic and necrotic tumor cells release their DNA content into the blood. This is commonly referred to as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA); and can be used for DNA sequencing or molecular genotyping assays to identify and quantitatively measure those ctDNA molecules bearing somatic mutations. More...
30 Aug 2017

$Image: An example of a TaqMan Low Density Array card; each well contains a specific miRNA forward primer, a specific miRNA TaqMan probe, and a reverse \"tail\" primer (Photo courtesy of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute).$

Molecular Blood Test Developed for Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer is usually caught because of the symptoms a patient develops, but it is also possible for kidney cancer to be asymptomatic, with tumors growing quite large before causing pain or other noticeable problems. More...
29 Aug 2017

Image: The QuantStudio 12K Flex system is a highly flexible, comprehensive real-time PCR platform (Photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher Scientific).

Gene Expression Profiling Validated for Uveal Melanoma

Uveal melanoma is a cancer of the eye involving the iris, ciliary body, or choroid (collectively referred to as the uvea). Tumors arise from the pigment cells (melanocytes) that reside within the uvea giving color to the eye. More...
29 Aug 2017

$Image: An artist\'s concept of the circulating DNA sequencing approach for cancer detection (Photo courtesy of Victor Velculescu et al / Science Translational Medicine).$