Singlera detects single molecules of ctmDNA Single molecule detection of ctmDNA The reason why early detection biomarkers for cancer is not a trivial task First, second and third-generation sequencing First-generation sequencing (also known as Sanger sequencing, or dideoxy-terminator sequencing) was the technology used for the Human Genome Project, and remains a workhorse and [...]
A ribbon model of molecules of protein p53 binding to a strand of DNA. Obtain many circulating biomarkers broadly, or a few biomarkers deeply? Can you have it all? At the recent Society for Neuroscience, Abcam sponsored a workshop entitled "Biomarkers of Neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s Disease" where Dr. Nicole [...]
Why isn't cancer prevention a higher priority? Cancer death rates could be drastically reduced Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. In a recent issue of the journal Science (Sept 28 2018, Vol 361 Issue 6409 page 1317, "Cancer Prevention: Molecular and epidemiologic consensus" Song M and Tomasetti C et al. ref 1) [...]
An Illustration of Big Data Big Data and Early Detection of Cancer Big Data is great when there is signal, not so great if there isn't any signal Big Data is a popular topic in this age of machine learning and artificial intelligence. There is plenty of activity in the healthcare realm, not [...]
A group of CAT scans of the human brain What if circulating tumor methylated DNA from brain cancer could be detected? Can ctmDNA be an early detection tool for glioblastoma multiforme? Gliblastoma Multiforme is a terrible form of brain cancer. With a reported 5-year survival rate of only 4.4%, at just the 3-year [...]
Circulating Biomarkers: the Internet of Biology Signals within the remarkable circulatory system A few weeks ago learning about a new San Diego CA company called Cardea Biosciences they described a novel functionalized graphene biosensor with the tagline, ‘Powering the Internet of Biology’. This is a powerful metaphor – the Internet is seen as a ‘fourth [...]
The Challenges and Opportunities of Prospective Longitudinal Studies Is it possible to accelerate the future? What is exciting about working in the field of clinical molecular diagnostics is its promise of real impact on human health. Yet the path from biomarker discovery to an FDA-approved test in general use is a long and painstaking process: [...]
Why use circulating tumor methylated DNA (ctmDNA) to detect disease? Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) isn’t abundant enough for subtle signals from circulating DNA History and context of cell-free DNA and its role in cancer In 1949 Mandel and Matais discovered cell-free DNA in plasma in a French publication and in 1965 (seventeen years [...]
Looking for new circulating biomarker signals with new technology Note: A version of this post was previously published on The Next Generation Technologist blog. Cell-free DNA is an attractive analyte For those not too familiar with cell-free DNA, this is DNA shed from natural (or unnatural) cell death and typically is cleared from [...]
An Early Mark: Announcing the Singlera Genomics Blog Singlera Genomics has been established with the most elusive of goals: to detect disease early, through a gene signature that can be as easy as a blood test. Through analysis of circulating methylated DNA markers in the bloodstream rather than specific DNA mutations, the numbers [...]
