DNA Genotek's Sample Collection Blog

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 communicate information.² The rise of social media has transformed how scientists conduct research, communicate findings, and aggregate information. In this issue of The Genetic Link, we explore how science is harnessing social media, where it is being best-used and what this means for you.

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 from saliva are clear:

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 large groups. It therefore requires enough DNA samples from a given population to reduce the effect of outliers and ultimately, determine objective truths.  

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, it is clear that genetics is incredibly valuable. But - are some genes more interesting and, therefore, studied more often than others?

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 (genomit.com.ar). genomIT SA has a strong and experienced scientific, machine learning & biotechnology team and offers a host of genetic tests under the Zoigen brand, many of which are of their own design. From our discussion, we learned how precision medicine is evolving in Latin America, the challenges the Zoigen brand has encountered while designing and implementing their products and services, as well as how Oragene saliva kits have simplified their collection process.

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 DNA Genotek explain how the Nextera DNA Flex and Oragene DNA from saliva kits are complementary technologies shifting the paradigm by enabling direct saliva input in the creation of high-quality libraries for whole-genome sequencing (WGS).

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 TL previously (you can find the links here and here), because we find this area of research fascinating.

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 detected early and controlled; thus, reducing CVD-mediated mortality and morbidity. Recently, the growing trend of adolescent obesity has predisposed youth to both HT and CVD, and has become a serious health concern within the population. Obesity appears to have both genetic and environmental/nutritional factors, and given the risk to health, merits dedicated research to understand and, hopefully, combat it.

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 when making this selection and what challenges might you face? 

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 our list with: (1) DNA Sequencing Technology; (2) Large Population-based Genetic Cohorts; and (3) DNA as a Storage Device. Prepare to be inspired as we continue with our final 3 topics below. Enjoy!