Genetically modified food opponents know less than they think, research finds

Phys.org | January 14, 2019

The people who hold the most extreme views opposing genetically modified (GM) foods think they know most about GM food science but actually know the least, according to new research. The paper, published Monday in Nature Human Behaviour, was a collaboration between researchers at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania.
Marketing and psychology researchers asked more than 2,000 U.S. and European adults for their opinions about GM foods. The surveys asked respondents how well they thought they understood genetically modified foods, then tested how much they actually knew with a battery of true-false questions on general science and genetics. Despite a scientific consensus that GM foods are safe for human consumption and have the potential to provide significant nutritional benefits, many people oppose their use. More than 90 percent of study respondents reported some level of opposition to GM foods.

Spotlight

This technical note demonstrates the comprehensive
characterization and confident identification of glucuronide
metabolites from hepatocyte incubations of midazolam. An
orthogonal fragmentation mechanism was applied to generate diagnostic fragment ions for confident identification of glucuronide metabolites

Spotlight

This technical note demonstrates the comprehensive
characterization and confident identification of glucuronide
metabolites from hepatocyte incubations of midazolam. An
orthogonal fragmentation mechanism was applied to generate diagnostic fragment ions for confident identification of glucuronide metabolites

Related News

INDUSTRIAL IMPACT, MEDICAL

Synthego Introduces CRISPR Discovery Partners to Streamline CRISPR-Driven Drug Discovery Research

Synthego | March 17, 2023

Synthego Corp., a leading genome engineering solutions provider, announced today the launch of its service partner ecosystem, CRISPR Discovery Partners, designed to accelerate drug discovery by providing a seamless research workflow from CRISPR editing to phenotypic data and downstream services. The ecosystem brings together high-value partners including Arctoris, BrainXell, Curia, PhenoVista, and Pluristyx to offer a coordinated solution for CRISPR-driven drug discovery. The CRISPR Discovery Partner ecosystem creates an integrated workflow starting with Synthego's CRISPR Engineered Cells through functional readouts, providing researchers with a faster, more efficient, and more reliable way to move their discoveries forward. Researchers can access the full range of genome engineering services through Synthego, as well as downstream services including small molecule screening, cell-based assays, high content imaging, iPSC differentiation, and multi-omics through partners. The result is a streamlined drug discovery process that can help accelerate the development of life-saving treatments. Synthego's CRISPR Discovery Partners include Arctoris, a tech-enabled drug discovery service company, combines wet lab automation and machine learning with a world-class team of experienced drug discovery researchers to enable the accelerated development of small molecule, biologics, and cell therapy assets. BrainXell provides differentiation services to generate high-purity, iPSC-derived human neurons, astrocytes, and microglia for research use with a focus on drug discovery. BrainXell also offers fibroblast reprogramming and select downstream assay services. Curia, a global contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), offers products and services from discovery through manufacturing to help customers transform R&D results into real-world impact. PhenoVista, a San Diego-based CRO, specializes in modern, human, cell-based in vitro assay development and analysis. Internationally recognized for developing and implementing both fully bespoke projects and pre-validated Ready-2-Go assay services, this award-winning research partner leverages high-content imaging to enable life scientists to accelerate their discovery of novel therapeutics and improve global health. Pluristyx offers expertise and tools to support and accelerate the development and commercialization of revolutionary therapeutics to treat serious human diseases by providing unique products, consulting, and contract services, including cell line expansion and banking. About Synthego Synthego is a genome engineering company that enables the acceleration of life science research and development in the pursuit of improved human health. The company leverages machine learning, automation, and gene editing to build platforms and products for science at scale. With its foundations in engineering disciplines, the company's platform technologies vertically integrate proprietary hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology to advance basic research, target validation, and clinical trials. With its technologies cited in hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and utilized by thousands of commercial and academic researchers and therapeutic drug developers, Synthego is at the forefront of innovation enabling the next generation of medicines by delivering genome editing at an unprecedented scale.

Read More

CELL AND GENE THERAPY

Mission Bio Develops Single-Cell Solution to Address Challenges in Genome Editing

PR Newswire | May 12, 2023

Mission Bio, the single-cell DNA and multi-omics company, announced today the Tapestri® Genome Editing Solution, an end-to-end product for genome editing analysis. The product will be previewed next week at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Conference (ASGCT) 26th Annual Meeting. By enabling robust single-cell insights impacting both efficacy and safety, the solution will be a powerful analytical tool for developing the next generation of gene-edited therapies. The first CRISPR-modified therapy is now under regulatory review, and many similar cell-based therapies are expected to follow for multiple intractable diseases. However, genome editing can result in complex, heterogeneous mixtures of edits that make it challenging to apply a level of process control over genome-edited cell products. The Tapestri® Genome Editing Solution addresses these challenges by measuring gene editing outcomes at single-cell resolution, capturing the co-occurrence of on- and off-target edits, as well as the zygosity of edits, which conventional bulk analyses cannot. Additionally, this analysis can be completed within days by processing thousands of cells at a time without any prior selection, while conventional analytical methods require months for clonal outgrowth. An early iteration of the Tapestri® Genome Editing Solution is currently being tested by key genome editing researchers and leading cell therapy developers in academia and industry, who are providing vital feedback on the analysis. Mission Bio recently collaborated with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the Genome Editing Consortium, which provided qualified samples to collaborators to assess technologies that report variant size and frequency within a mixed cell population. Samantha Maragh, NIST Genome Editing Program Leader, will present results of the study at 12:00 p.m. PT on May 17 (Poster 533) at the ASGCT Annual Meeting. "We look forward to pulling back the curtain on our end-to-end Genome Editing Solution at ASGCT," said Todd Druley, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer at Mission Bio. "The data acquired under the Genome Editing Consortium further demonstrates the Tapestri® Platform's potential as a standard analysis tool within the genome editing community. Given the heterogeneous results of gene editing strategies, there is a great need to address both industry and regulatory genome editing concerns with a consistent and highly precise technology for accurately measuring gene editing outcomes, and our new offering will be a complete solution to do just that." About Mission Bio Mission Bio is a life sciences company that accelerates discoveries and cures for a wide range of diseases by equipping researchers with the tools they need to better measure and predict our resistance and response to new therapies. Mission Bio's multi-omics approach improves time-to-market for new therapeutics, including innovative cell and gene therapies that provide new pathways to health. Founded in 2014, Mission Bio has secured investment from Novo Growth, Cota Capital, Agilent Technologies, Mayfield Fund, and others. The company's Tapestri® Platform gives researchers around the globe the power to interrogate every molecule in a cell together, providing a comprehensive understanding of activity from a single sample. Tapestri® is the only commercialized multi-omics platform capable of analyzing DNA and protein simultaneously from the same sample at single-cell resolution. The Tapestri® Platform is being utilized by customers at leading research centers, pharmaceutical, and diagnostics companies worldwide to develop treatments and eventually cures for cancer.

Read More

CELL AND GENE THERAPY, INDUSTRIAL IMPACT

Fulgent Genetics Launches Mission Bio Platform to Broaden Accessibility of Single-Cell Multi-Omics for Drug Development and Clinical Research

Prnewswire | April 12, 2023

Mission Bio, Inc., the pioneer in high-throughput single-cell DNA and multi-omics analysis, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Fulgent Genetics a technology-based company with a well-established clinical diagnostic business and a therapeutic development business. Fulgent Genetics is now able to offer single-cell multi-omics on the Tapestri Platform on its fully customizable menu of services, including whole genome, whole exome, RNA sequencing, tumor profiling, methylation sequencing, liquid biopsy, single cell sequencing, spatial biology, and pathology services to support its growing pharma client demands. Additionally, Fulgent Genetics will evaluate the Tapestri Platform for applications in clinical development to streamline the drug development and approval process. Over the last ten to fifteen years, there has been a paradigm shift in clinical trials towards precision oncology by using biomarkers to select or enrich trial cohorts. The Tapestri Platform's ability to do single-cell analysis of genotype and phenotype from the same cell can provide the sensitivity and resolution for biomarker discovery unattainable by current bulk methods. Single-cell resolution can reveal treatment resistance mechanisms that may help to better stratify patients in clinical trials. While on treatment, residual levels of disease can be detected with the high sensitivity of single-cell analysis. Characterizing clonal heterogeneity and tracking clonal evolution during treatment can potentially guide adaptive and rational combination therapies for better patient stratification and better clinical trial outcomes. "The increasing adoption of the Tapestri Platform for translational research and clinical development by many cancer centers and global pharma companies demonstrates the necessity of single-cell multi-omics," said Dr. Hanlin (Harry) Gao M.D., Ph.D., D.A.B.M.G., F.A.C.M.G., Chief Scientific Officer of Fulgent Genetics. "The relationship between Fulgent Genetics and Mission Bio will make it easier and faster for biopharmaceutical customers to generate data for more precise clinical trials." "Fulgent Genetics' full scope, end-to-end service and comprehensive genomic portfolio is the perfect one-stop shop for pharma customers," said Todd Druley, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Mission Bio. "While some pharma customers can and still do partner with us through our internal Pharma Assay Development (PAD) services, this agreement provides another option for them to leverage the single-cell multi-omics expertise and full suite of solutions offered by Fulgent Genetics, particularly as they complete the validation of the Tapestri Platform in their CAP CLIA lab in the near future." Customers today have access to the Tapestri Platform and its full breadth of single-cell multi-omics and scMRD assays through Fulgent Genetics' labs. About Mission Bio Mission Bio is a life sciences company that accelerates discoveries and cures for a wide range of diseases by equipping researchers with the tools they need to better measure and predict our resistance and response to new therapies. Mission Bio's multi-omics approach improves time-to-market for new therapeutics, including innovative cell and gene therapies that provide new pathways to health. Founded in 2014, Mission Bio has secured investment from Novo Growth, Cota Capital, Agilent Technologies, Mayfield Fund, and others. The company's Tapestri Platform gives researchers around the globe the power to interrogate every molecule in a cell together, providing a comprehensive understanding of activity from a single sample. Tapestri is the only commercialized multi-omics platform capable of analyzing DNA and protein simultaneously from the same sample at single-cell resolution.

Read More