DNA Genotek's Blog - The Genetic Link

DNA Genotek’s top 10 list for the decade

By: Kathleen Weber on 01/14/20 9:45

Ten years ago this week, we published DNA Genotek’s first annual top 10 list. In that year, an international group of scientists published the first draft of the Neanderthal ...

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DNA methylation with saliva: A strong predictor of major depressive disorder

By: Katherine Lawless on 12/16/19 13:30

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects more than 300 million people globally, is the leading cause of disability and is a major contributor to the overall burden of disease. ...

Podcast: Multiomics methods investigate aging process in man's best friend

By: Shauna White on 12/11/19 10:15

A team of researchers is hoping old dogs can teach us some new tricks. The scientists, with the backing of the U.S National Institute on Aging, have launched a project in which ...

Highlights from ASHG 2019: beyond DNA

By: Scott Rabuka on 11/12/19 13:30

DNA Genotek has long been an active participant at the American Society for Human Genomics (ASHG) annual meeting. Each year, we witness new industry trends and the evolution of ...

Oh, the places you’ll go…to collect saliva samples

By: Katherine Lawless on 10/01/19 13:32

Around the world, genetic research continues to highlight new discoveries. Many of these discoveries are possible through the use of technologies that allow easy, non-invasive ...

Do you need an FDA cleared DNA collection device for your laboratory developed genetic test (LDT)?

By: Kathleen Weber on 09/18/19 9:51

If you are developing a genetic test that provides diagnostic information as part of a laboratory developed test (LDT) for use in the United States and were asked if you had to ...

The Mito-FIND project: Unlocking the secrets to mitochondrial disease with DNA from saliva

By: Katherine Lawless on 08/16/19 10:25

“Mitochondria are essential for life. Mitochondrial diseases interfere with the body’s ability to make energy and affect more than 2 million people in the world” - Mito-FIND ...

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Is genetic testing with saliva the best method for risk-based breast cancer screening?

By: Katherine Lawless on 08/07/19 10:50

For decades, breast cancer prevention programs followed the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach where each patient would receive the same type of screening. Only recently ...

The art of innovation: How DNA Genotek delivers game-changing products and services

By: Shauna White on 07/16/19 10:17

As a reader of The Genetic Link blog, you are likely aware that DNA Genotek (and our sister companies CoreBiome and Novosanis) are subsidiaries of OraSure Technologies Inc., a ...

Air pollution and cognitive dysfunction: uncovering the TRAP

By: Katherine Lawless on 07/12/19 10:23

When you are on your morning commute to work, whether you drive or ride the bus, you might not realize that you are exposed to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). When people ...

Is the speed gene the key to athletic performance? The answer is only a spit away

By: Katherine Lawless on 06/19/19 13:24

It is widely accepted that genetic factors are strongly linked with athletic performance.[1] After receiving my own 23andMe wellness results, I learned that I was a carrier of ...

Saliva as a sample type for genomic applications

By: Shauna White on 06/07/19 13:20

This week, I interviewed Scott Rabuka, Director of the Genomics Program at DNA Genotek for our podcast, Molecules, Microbes and Multiomics. Scott joined DNA Genotek in 2008 as ...

DNA saliva kits or traditional blood collection: which is more cost effective?

By: Scott Rabuka on 05/22/19 13:26

Many researchers have asked the question: can saliva replace blood for DNA collection and analysis? Research studies confirm that DNA from saliva is equivalent to DNA from ...

Urine as a liquid biopsy for cancer detection – Could yellow be the new red?

By: Kerry Chatburn on 04/24/19 13:38

I recently had the opportunity to visit our new sister company, Novosanis+ in Antwerp, Belgium, to talk about urine as a sample type. Novosanis is dedicated to solving urine ...

Vitamin D deficiency: the new link to type 2 diabetes mellitus in United Arab Emirates

By: Katherine Lawless on 04/11/19 14:00

“Diabetes is the fastest growing debilitating disease in the world”. Dr. Al-Anouti and Dr. Al-Safar In 2015, statistics showed that 415 million people suffer from diabetes ...

Genome-wide DNA methylation comparison: Brain tissue vs. blood, saliva and buccal cells

By: Katherine Lawless on 04/03/19 13:30

DNA methylation (DNAm) has become increasingly widespread in the study of psychiatric disorders.[1] Many psychiatric epigenetic studies began to work with peripheral tissues ...

Considering adding microbiome to your research? Thoughts from Dr. Dan Knights

By: Shauna White on 03/27/19 13:32

We recently introduced readers of The Microbiome Snapshot to our sister company, CoreBiome, a privately-held, Minnesota-based microbiome analysis company that accelerates ...

Celebrating influential women in genetics - International women's day

By: Katherine Lawless on 03/08/19 8:58

Throughout history, women have influenced and shaped our views and knowledge of science from all disciplines, including human genomics. The research of radioactivity by Dr. ...

Is whole genome sequencing the new first-line test for children with genetic diseases?

By: Katherine Lawless on 02/19/19 13:41

Congenital anomalies and genetic disorders are the leading cause of death in children less than ten years old and affect about six percent of live births. For children with ...

Oral swabs for pharmacogenomics: A comparative study of DNA quality and performance

By: Katherine Lawless on 02/05/19 13:30

Pharmacogenomics is a growing field that tailors dosage and drug choices based on patient genetic profiles with the potential to benefit millions of patients with personalized ...

8 facts most people don’t know about DNA from saliva

By: Scott Rabuka on 02/01/19 10:25

Since the launch of this blog, The Genetic Link, in 2009, we have published numerous articles, interviews, technical information and infographics to share what we know about ...

DNA Genotek’s top 10 list for 2018

By: Brian Smith on 01/21/19 13:13

Every year since 2009 we’ve picked our top 10 list for the year. People often ask, what does it take to get on this list? It’s a reasonable question — some of our previous ...

Exciting discoveries from Spit for Science & a sneak-peak at Spit for Science II

By: Erin Carpenter on 01/08/19 13:42

Russell Schachar, MD, FRCP(C), gave an engaging and inspiring talk at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) conference this year titled: ADHD and OCD genetics: ...

Reproductive health and genetic testing: What sample types work best?

By: Erin Carpenter on 12/05/18 13:38

In this blog, we want to discuss the various genetic testing options available with respect to fertility and reproductive health; highlighting the sample collection methods ...

3 trends within high-impact genomics you may not know about

By: Katherine Lawless on 11/28/18 13:46

Our knowledge of science is constantly changing and improving as new discoveries drive us forward in the modern world. Genomics is no exception. We witness these trends all ...

Science and Social Media: Harnessing the power of global conversation

By: Erin Carpenter on 10/31/18 14:03

Every second over 8000 tweets are sent out on Twitter1 and, in the United States, 90% of adolescents and 65% of adults use some form of social media to curate, share and/or ...

Top 5 considerations when selecting a saliva-based DNA collection method

By: Kerry Chatburn on 10/10/18 10:09

The past decade of genetic advancements has proven DNA from saliva is reliable and effective for both research and diagnostics applications. The benefits of collecting DNA ...

How to execute large-scale DNA sample collection for genetic research - 10 essential considerations

By: Kerry Chatburn on 10/09/18 10:12

Genetic epidemiology, the study of how genetics contribute to health and disease in families and populations, seeks to derive a statistical analysis of how genetics works in ...

The top ten most studied human genes of all time

By: Erin Carpenter on 08/27/18 13:43

With the importance of human genomic research, the rise in popularity of precision medicine, as well as the inclusion of a genetic component in many interdisciplinary studies, ...

Q&A with Latin American personalized genetics company: Genomit SA (Zoigen)

By: Erin Carpenter on 07/26/18 10:09

Recently DNA Genotek had the pleasure of speaking with Matías Butti, one of the co-founders of an innovative genomic medicine company located in Argentina named genomIT SA ...

High quality libraries for human WGS with direct saliva Input

By: Erin Carpenter on 07/19/18 10:35

In the open discussion webinar hosted by Frontline Genomics, Joshua Burgess Ph.D., Manager Scientific Research, R&D at Illumina and Rafal Iwasiow, Ph.D., Vice President, R&D at ...

Comparing minimally invasive sample collection techniques for large population-based telomere length studies

By: Erin Carpenter on 06/14/18 9:21

Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of age, longevity and age-related disease. If you are an avid follower of our blog, The Genetic Link, you’ll notice that we’ve posted about ...

Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk in Italian Youth

By: Erin Carpenter on 05/24/18 9:23

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a very serious and life-threatening condition. Hypertension (HT) is a significant risk factor contributing to CVD, and also one that may be ...

The key to eliminating bias in genetic studies could be in our spit: expert panel discussion

By: Erin Carpenter on 05/16/18 14:05

Are you questioning what sample-type to collect for your genetic research project? Are you considering saliva for DNA, RNA, or epigenetic analysis? What should you consider ...

6 innovations that can improve human health (part 2 of 2)

By: Erin Carpenter on 04/30/18 14:29

Here we continue our World Health Day top 6 innovations with the potential to improve human health countdown. If you missed part 1, you can find it here, where we kicked off ...

6 genetic innovations that can improve human health (part 1 of 2)

By: Erin Carpenter on 04/10/18 13:38

World Health Day (April 7th) falls within this month, and to celebrate we thought it would be fun to countdown the top 6 genetic innovations that we feel have the potential to ...

In Celebration of International Women’s Day: 8 Inspirational Female Scientists

By: Erin Carpenter on 03/08/18 8:06

March 8th is International Women’s Day. In recognition, we are highlighting the extraordinary achievements of 8 female scientists who made significant contributions to the ...

Atlas Biomed: tackling personalized wellness with both genomics and microbiome

By: Shauna White on 03/05/18 10:25

One of the things I like most about my job at DNA Genotek is the opportunity to speak with customers who are breaking new ground in the fields of genomics and microbiome. In ...

DNA Genotek’s top 10 list for 2017

By: Brian Smith on 01/18/18 13:22

I have to admit, coming up with the 9th edition of DNA Genotek's "Top 10 list" was much more difficult than I imagined it would be. There are so many great things that happened ...

Could microRNA from saliva be a predictor of concussion symptoms in children?

By: Shauna White on 11/30/17 14:15

The issue of concussions has attracted considerable media coverage in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 153 people in the United States ...

Discovering the genetics behind Ebola viral disease resistance

By: Kerry Chatburn on 10/17/17 14:13

Phase I: DNA sample Collection The Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The average EVD case ...

TISMOO: Ground-breaking science for personalized medicine

By: Kerry Chatburn on 09/22/17 9:46

Personalized medicine, also referred to as genomic medicine or precision medicine, is defined by the National Human Genome Research Institute is an approach to healthcare that ...

Losing weight – do your genes play a role?

By: Erin Carpenter on 05/24/17 10:16

With Summer and the promise of warmer weather around the corner, it’s time to start putting away our winter coats and unpack our summer apparel. If you’re like me, you’re ...

The SPARK project – Fueling the fire on autism research

By: Kerry Chatburn on 05/04/17 10:33

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 2012 that 1 in 68 children in the US have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) [1]

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