The Genome Institute at Washington University - News

Leukemia gene mutations linked to survival odds

2012-03-14T13:24:13+00:00

Advances in genetic profiling are paving the way for more precise, and effective, treatment of the aggressive bone marrow cancer known as acute mylogenous leukemia, or AML, according to new research.

Gorilla genome could hold key to the human condition

2012-03-07T21:19:34+00:00

Researchers in Cambridge have deciphered the genetic code of the gorilla - the last of the Great Ape genuses to be sequenced.

Company Unveils DNA Sequencing Device Meant to Be Portable, Disposable and Cheap

2012-02-17T15:15:16+00:00

DNA sequencing is becoming both faster and cheaper. Now, it is also becoming tinier.

A British company said on Friday that by the end of the year it would begin selling a disposable gene sequencing device that is the size of a USB memory stick and plugs into a laptop computer to deliver its results.

US scientists show how immune system ‘prunes’ tumours

2012-02-08T15:15:37+00:00

Laboratory research by US scientists has shown for the first time how the body's immune system shapes how a tumour grows.

The finding, by a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, published in Nature, suggests that genetic information from within a patient's tumour could one day be used to rapidly create tailored vaccines to treat their disease.

Genomes offer clues to treating childhood cancers

2012-01-12T19:48:25+00:00

On Tuesday, two biotech companies announced that it would soon be possible to sequence the human genome -- each individual's complete DNA blueprint -- in about a day for around $1,000.

DNA Damage From Chemo May Help Spur Leukemia’s Return

2012-01-12T19:46:51+00:00

The chemotherapy used to treat a form of adult leukemia sets a trap that can result in the return of the disease within years, a new study suggests.

Chemotherapy treatment might induce leukemia relapse

2012-01-11T19:39:23+00:00

Chemotherapy drugs, the first line of defense for a common form of adult leukemia, could actually be contributing to the disease’s rate of relapse in patients.

High-Tech Choir Master

2012-01-01T18:52:00+00:00

Elaine Mardis was in the right place at the right time. During her senior year as a zoology major at Oklahoma University, Mardis found herself at loose ends. “It wasn’t readily apparent to me what to do next,” she says. “Then I took a biochemistry class—and the instructor was one Bruce A. Roe.

Work begun on Wash U data center expansion

2011-12-20T18:46:41+00:00

Construction is underway on a $12.5 million project to double the size of the genetics data center at the Washington University School of Medicine. Clayco Inc., a design/build firm, began construction last month. Completion is scheduled for next May.

Work on cells targets tumors

2011-12-15T14:52:13+00:00

Imagine two women sitting in an oncologist's office. Both have been diagnosed with a type of breast cancer called hormone-receptor positive, and both will receive the same chemotherapy drug.