DNA Genotek's Sample Collection Blog

Collecting saliva DNA is more effective and less costly for genetic research, a study suggests. The study, titled Specimen Collection within the CRN: A critical appraisal,  was produced by The CRN Pharmacovigilance Project Genomics Working Group. The overall goal of the genomics working group was to explore issues surrounding the collection and use of biological specimens at the participating CRN sites. This report is one of the most comprehensive analyses by an organization on the cost-effectiveness of blood and saliva sample collection for DNA applications. The saliva collection analysis was based on the Oragene kit.

The remarkable growth in the number of centenarians (people aged ≥ 100) has garnered significant attention over the past 20 or so years. Centenarians have been found to exhibit marked delays in functional decline and age-related lethal diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Recently, an even more extreme group, supercentenarians, or people aged 110 and older, has begun to yield sufficient numbers to warrant study. Supercentenarians are living proof that reaching a ripe old age doesn't necessarily mean that you can no longer take care of yourself. Consequently, the interest in genetic studies of these super centenarians is growing.

Last week, we unveiled  an innovative award program that is designed to increase donor recruitment for Marrow Donor Registries. The DNA Genotek HLA Event Collection Award is designed to facilitate high-impact, event-based DNA collections using DNA from saliva. With this award program, DNA Genotek will provide saliva-based DNA collection kits and marketing materials to support a successful event-based collection. The program is intended for innovative event collection projects which may not be possible without saliva-based collection.

DNA from Oragene/saliva samples continues to gain acceptance as a suitable sample input for next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) from targeted to exome to whole genome sequencing. The latest development in this body of evidence is the recent announcement by Complete Genomics that they will now accept DNA from Oragene/saliva samples for whole genome sequencing. 

It has been just over a month since we received all the applications for the DNA Genotek Grant Program. We were thrilled with both the quality and the quantity of the applications we received and our selection committee has been extremely busy reviewing them carefully.  

We would like to introduce you to Oragene•DISCOVER, a new brand for our research customers within the United States. Oragene•DISCOVER is the result of a change in the brand name and labeling of our Oragene•DNA product. Here are some of the reasons why we made this change and what we think it means for you.

Professor Gareth Evans of the University of Manchester is heading up a major research study, which is being carried out throughout Greater Manchester. 60,000 women are being invited to join a study, named PROCAS, which aims to predict breast cancer risk for women who attend routine NHS breast screening in Greater Manchester. A woman’s risk is assessed by collecting extra information on each of the most important breast cancer risk factors – family history, lifestyle factors, breast density and genetics.

It’s that time of year again when I reflect on the past year and highlight DNA Genotek’s top ten list for 2011. This is now the third installment of my annual top ten list series and each year, I am surprised at how difficult it is to keep this list to just ten items. I easily come up with 20 to 30 topics that could be on this list and struggle to choose those most deserving of a mention. This year, there were many significant events for DNA Genotek. After much deliberation, here is my top ten list for 2011, in no particular order.

Seasons Greetings Everyone:

Please click the video link for a special holiday video card from DNA Genotek.

My lab is devoted to understanding the biological and psychological characteristics of persons at risk for alcoholism. Alcohol addiction is a behavioral disorder with both genetic and environmental contributions. Persons with a positive family history of alcoholism are 4 – 6 times as likely to develop an alcohol use disorder as persons with no such history. Our guiding hypothesis is that a genetic predisposition toward alcohol and other substance-use disorders involves altered function of brain regions regulating reward motivation. We are studying four domains of function related to prefrontal cortex and limbic system regulation of motivated behavior: 1) Behavioral under control: the person's temperamental balance of positive to negative affect should be less stable and weighted toward dysphoria.  2) Cognitive processing on tests or working memory.  3) Decision-making during a reward based delay discounting calling for choices between immediate, but small rewards vs. waiting over a time delay to gain a larger reward. 4) Visceral responses to psychological stress using the stress hormone, cortisol, and autonomic control of the heart.