Leung Lab Blog

Genomics

1. Venter’s New Goal: World’s Largest Sequencing Operation
2. Clinical Whole Genome Sequencing: Not Quite Ready for Prime Time?

Genetics

1. Vanderperre B, Lucier JF, Bissonnette C, Motard J, Tremblay G, Vanderperre S, Wisztorski M, Salzet M, Boisvert FM, Roucou X. Direct detection of alternative open reading frames translation products in human significantly expands the proteome. PLoS One. 2013 Aug 12;8(8):e70698. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070698. eCollection 2013. PubMed PMID: 23950983; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3741303.

Stem cells

1. Acid-bath stem-cell study under investigation.

Genome-editing

1. Tebas P, Stein D, Tang WW, Frank I, Wang SQ, Lee G, Spratt SK, Surosky RT, Giedlin MA, Nichol G, Holmes MC, Gregory PD, Ando DG, Kalos M, Collman RG, Binder-Scholl G, Plesa G, Hwang WT, Levine BL, June CH. Gene editing of CCR5 in autologous CD4 T cells of persons infected with HIV. N Engl J Med. 2014 Mar 6;370(10):901-10. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1300662. PubMed PMID: 24597865.
   • Editorial commentary: Kay MA, Walker BD. Engineering cellular resistance to HIV. N Engl J Med. 2014
     Mar 6;370(10):968-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJMe1400593. PubMed PMID: 24597871.
   • News coverage: Editing Genes May Make Cells Resist HIV.

Philosophy

How Academia and Publishing are Destroying Scientific Innovation: A Conversation with Sydney Brenner

Medicine

1. Flannick J, Thorleifsson G, Beer NL, Jacobs SB, Grarup N, Burtt NP, Mahajan A, Fuchsberger C, Atzmon G, Benediktsson R, Blangero J, Bowden DW, Brandslund I, Brosnan J, Burslem F, Chambers J, Cho YS, Christensen C, Douglas DA, Duggirala R, Dymek Z, Farjoun Y, Fennell T, Fontanillas P, Forsén T, Gabriel S, Glaser B, Gudbjartsson DF, Hanis C, Hansen T, Hreidarsson AB, Hveem K, Ingelsson E, Isomaa  B, Johansson S, Jørgensen T, Jørgensen ME, Kathiresan S, Kong A, Kooner J, Kravic J, Laakso M, Lee JY, Lind L, Lindgren CM, Linneberg A, Masson G, Meitinger T, Mohlke KL, Molven A, Morris AP, Potluri S, Rauramaa R, Ribel-Madsen R, Richard AM, Rolph T, Salomaa V, Segrè AV, Skärstrand H, Steinthorsdottir V, Stringham HM, Sulem P, Tai ES, Teo YY, Teslovich T, Thorsteinsdottir U, Trimmer JK, Tuomi T, Tuomilehto J, Vaziri-Sani F, Voight BF, Wilson JG, Boehnke M, McCarthy MI, Njølstad PR, Pedersen O, Groop L, Cox DR, Stefansson K, Altshuler D. Loss-of-function mutations in SLC30A8 protect against type 2 diabetes. Nat Genet. 2014 Mar 2. doi: 10.1038/ng.2915. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24584071.
   • News coverage: Mutation is said to prevent Type 2 diabetes
2. Mapstone M, Cheema AK, Fiandaca MS, Zhong X, Mhyre TR, Macarthur LH, Hall WJ, Fisher SG, Peterson DR, Haley JM, Nazar MD, Rich SA, Berlau DJ, Peltz CB, Tan MT, Kawas CH, Federoff HJ. Plasma phospholipids identify antecedent memory impairment in older adults. Nat Med. 2014 Mar 9. doi: 10.1038/nm.3466. [Epub ahead of print]
   PubMed PMID: 24608097.
   • News coverage: Blood test that can predict Alzheimer’s: Elderly could be given early warning
   • News coverage: New Blood Test Can Predict Alzheimer’s, Mild Dementia

Imaging

1. Foldscope: Origami-based paper microscope
   • News coverage: Stanford bioengineer develops a 50-cent paper microscope

Zebrafish

1. Cressey D. Fish-kill method questioned. Nature. 2014 Feb 27;506(7489):419-20. doi: 10.1038/506419a. PubMed PMID: 24572404.

Eye disease

1. Fernandez de Castro J, Scott PA, Fransen JW, Demas J, Demarco PJ, Kaplan HJ, McCall MA. Cone Photoreceptors Develop Normally in the Absence of Functional Rod Photoreceptors in a Transgenic Swine Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 Mar 11. pii: iovs.13-13724v1. doi: 10.1167/iovs.13-13724. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24618325.

Vision

1. Partridge JC, Douglas RH, Marshall NJ, Chung WS, Jordan TM, Wagner HJ. Reflecting optics in the diverticular eye of a deep-sea barreleye fish (Rhynchohyalus natalensis). Proc Biol Sci. 2014 Mar 19;281(1782):20133223. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.3223. Print 2014. PubMed PMID: 24648222.

Evolution

1. Gassmann AJ, Petzold-Maxwell JL, Clifton EH, Dunbar MW, Hoffmann AM, Ingber DA, Keweshan RS. Field-evolved resistance by western corn rootworm to multiple Bacillus thuringiensis toxins in transgenic maize. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Mar 17. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 24639498.
   • News coverage: Voracious Worm Evolves to Eat Biotech Corn Engineered to Kill It

Neuroscience

1. Bushdid C, Magnasco MO, Vosshall LB, Keller A. Humans can discriminate more than 1 trillion olfactory stimuli. Science. 2014 Mar 21;343(6177):1370-2. doi: 10.1126/science.1249168. PubMed PMID: 24653035.
   • News coverage: Sweet smell of success: human nose discerns giant array of odors