BiotechMashup

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Next-Generation Sequencing technologies are not only beginning to supplant traditional Sanger sequencing methodology but are also giving DNA microarrays a run for the money as well, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Advantages of NGS include a streamlined workflow that eliminates transformation and colony picking and massive parallelism, according to the September 1 issue of GEN

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology is experiencing a surge of interest and rapid expansion as a result of advances such as instrumentation that pushes capacity to 1,536 wells and optimization-free multiplexing, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. The technique's ability to both detect and simultaneously quantify specific DNA sequences is increasing its use in basic research and diagnostics, according to the Nov. 15 issue of GEN.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Biotech scientists are working on novel protein kinase inhibitors that are targeting a host of conditions ranging from atherosclerosis to neurodegenerative diseases, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Biopharmaceutical firms and other life science organizations are taking definitive steps toward creating greener working environments and developing more sustainable operations, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. This promising trend was made clear through a series of presentations and panel discussions that took place at GEN's "GreenBioPharma" conference, which was recently held in Philadelphia.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Laboratory research and clinical studies are beginning to demonstrate that DNA vaccines can be as effective as traditional vaccines, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. A number of factors are driving the growth of the field, especially new approaches to electroporation, vaccine formulation, and vector design, according to the April 15 issue of GEN.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Scientists are turning to a decades-old technique to better understand the physical effects of compression on macromolecules and how it might impact their research in proteomics, mass spectrometry, protein extraction, and tissue investigations, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) A move toward smaller and smaller sample sizes is leading to a new generation of mass spectrometry instrumentation, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Scientists involved in DNA vaccine research are currently focused on two major issues: the creation of effective delivery systems and the development of more efficient biomanufacturing strategies, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News) Increasing numbers of research studies clearly demonstrate that genetics alone cannot explain the diversity of living organisms, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Also driving the development of such complexity is epigenetics, and the Feb. 1 issue of GEN contains three articles that illustrate the growing recognition of the importance of this emerging field of study.