Oct 08, 2020

Fifty Points of Significance

In 2013, Nature Methods launched Points of Significance, a popular column devoted to enhancing statistical literacy among life scientists. Seven years, 50 articles and ~471,000 accesses later, authors Martin Krzywinski and Dr. Naomi Altman continue to illuminate key statistical methods with profound importance in biological research.
Oct 01, 2020

An optimized tool for the development of novel therapies for treatment-resistant prostate cancer

The development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of chemotherapy-resistant prostate cancer relies on disease models that accurately mimic the progression of human disease. When transferred into mice, a particular cell line does just that, allowing researchers to test the efficacy of potential drugs. But studies have shown that the cell line suffers from a lack of reproducibility and that an improved model of treatment-resistant prostate cancer is needed.
Sep 24, 2020

POG researchers uncover potential biomarkers for the treatment of advanced stage breast and colorectal cancer

Cancer is a disease of the genome, and research has shown that the genomic alterations in a tumour influence treatment response and failure. For advanced-stage breast and colorectal cancer, tumour sequencing has now uncovered key alterations that can guide clinicians in determining the best course of treatment for their patients.
Sep 03, 2020

A bioinformatics method may help uncover link between immune system variability and SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility

The striking variability in disease severity in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 has been attributed to several host factors, including age, pre-existing health conditions and differences in host genetics and immune responses. In a study published in the journal Bioinformatics, Dr. Inanc Birol and René Warren demonstrated the technical feasibility and utility of the bioinformatics tool, HLAminer, to investigate the role of host immune system variability in COVID-19 disease susceptibility.
Aug 27, 2020

New tool enables researchers to assemble transcript isoforms from single cells

The advent of single-cell RNA sequencing technologies has provided unprecedented opportunities for the analysis of transcriptomes at single-cell resolution, allowing researchers to explore cell-to-cell variability. Now, researchers have developed a tool for the analysis and identification of RNA isoforms from single-cell RNA sequencing data. 

Aug 10, 2020

An in-depth analysis of cervical cancers in Ugandan women

Cervical cancer disproportionately affects women in sub-Saharan Africa where it is the most common cancer-related mortality and has disease rates higher than any other region in the world (1). Yet studies of the disease have predominantly focused on non-African populations.

An international team of researchers, in work led by Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) at BC Cancer, have now published an analysis of the genomic characteristics of cervical cancers in Ugandan women.

Aug 06, 2020

A framework for the management of inherited genetic variation impacting cancer patients and their families

Cancer is a disease of the genome. Using data from next-generation DNA sequencing technology, genome scientists and oncologists can work together to better inform an approach to individual patient treatment planning that is more targeted and personalized than ever before. But, in the process, they can also uncover information about a patient, such as their family’s susceptibility to hereditary forms of cancer and other diseases. What should scientists and clinicians do with all of this information? A new clinical framework attempts to address this increasingly common conundrum.
Back to top