DNA Genotek's Blog - The Genetic Link

Identifying genes that influence the risk of disease

By: Jayden Hess on 08/18/20 13:30

The risk of developing a life-changing disease is affected by both an individual’s external environment and by their genes. Many common diseases are called complex, because of ...

While social distancing, reaching donors shouldn’t be an issue

By: Katherine Lawless on 04/28/20 13:30

Governments and public health experts have advised almost everyone to stay home. The majority of the population is now working from home, while businesses and institutions are ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

The power of ambient temperature sample shipping and storage

By: Devin Hale on 10/14/15 13:30

You may be aware that samples collected with DNA Genotek kits and reagents can be shipped and stored at ambient temperature. However, you may not have considered the many ...

Oragene enables a large-scale array-CGH and exome sequencing study

By: Shauna White on 02/25/15 10:57

In the summer of 2011 we wrote about an exciting project out of the United Kingdom that selected Oragene collection kits for a study that aimed to unlock genetic changes ...

A quick guide to application compatibility for Oragene – PCR to NGS

By: Shauna White on 09/03/14 13:36

In a recent article on The Genetic Link, we talked about going global and how our regulatory strategy helps support our customers who are conducting genetic research. Today, I ...

The origin and impact of the DISC1 gene: From schizophrenia to ADHD

By: Lisa Gamwell on 12/10/13 9:43

While reading a recent publication in the American Journal of Human Genetics Part B entitled DISC1 in Adult ADHD Patients: An Association Study in Two European Samples [1], I ...

The impact of bacterial DNA in saliva on whole genome sequencing

By: Mike Tayeb on 06/07/13 10:18

Mike Tayeb is the manager of technical support at DNA Genotek.

HLA typing in Israel with Oragene and ORAcollect

By: Shauna White on 01/29/13 11:07

Approximately 30 years ago, the Tissue Typing Laboratory at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel was created to serve a newly launched cadaver-kidney organ sharing program. The ...

[INFOGRAPHIC] DNA from saliva vs blood – who wins the cost battle?

By: Shauna White on 09/12/12 14:08

Introducing DNA Genotek’s first visual adventure – a fun trip through the blood vs saliva cost journey. You and I know what they say, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ ...

Natural selection in high altitude: Oragene functions as an enabler for challenging field research

By: Nicholas Ramdass on 08/14/12 11:15

Rookie mistakes – they will occur. I remember the first time I tried to reach out to Dr. Cynthia Beall, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve ...

Can saliva replace blood for DNA collection and analysis? (Part 3 of 3)

By: Kerry Chatburn on 07/25/12 11:23

Welcome to the final article in our 3 part series discussing whether or not saliva can replace blood for DNA collection and analysis. In part 1 and part 2 of this blog series, ...

Can saliva replace blood for DNA collection and analysis? (Part 2 of 3)

By: Kerry Chatburn on 07/17/12 11:27

Welcome to the second article in a 3 part series discussing whether or not saliva can replace blood for DNA collection and analysis. In part 1 of this blog series, we examined ...

Can saliva replace blood for DNA collection & analysis? (Part 1 of 3)

By: Kerry Chatburn on 07/12/12 11:02

Welcome to the first article in a 3 part series discussing whether or not saliva can replace blood for DNA collection and analysis. We hope you find this content interesting. ...

Saliva samples as a source of DNA for high throughput genotyping

By: Shauna White on 07/03/12 10:32

The BMC Medical Genomics Journal recently published the results of a study titled “Saliva samples are a viable alternative to blood samples as a source of DNA for high ...

DNA from saliva vs. blood – who wins the cost battle?

By: Scott Rabuka on 05/07/12 11:22

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, ...

DNA from saliva facilitates dermatological studies in Singapore

By: Shauna White on 08/03/11 11:03

Atopic dermatitis (AD) and acne vulgaris (AV) are both skin diseases studied by researchers at the Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), Singapore, with the goal of discovering ...

DNA from saliva to identify biomarkers predicting nicotine dependence

By: Shauna White on 07/07/11 10:40

Cigarette smoking remains a leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in many countries. The chance that a lifelong smoker will die prematurely from ...

3 reasons DNA from saliva is ideal for GWAS

By: Shauna White on 04/05/11 13:20

With the growth of genome wide association studies (GWAS) and their need for DNA from many thousands of people, the time seemed right for us to highlight how DNA from saliva ...

Challenges in DNA sample collection for personalized medicine

By: Shauna White on 03/01/11 13:41

We’ve been hearing the promises of personalized medicine for some time now with its magic formula of ‘the right treatment for the right patient at the right time’. In the past ...

Generation Scotland overcomes recruitment challenge with Oragene•DNA

By: Shauna White on 08/31/10 13:08

At DNA Genotek, we recently learned the details of study being conducted by Generation Scotland called The Scottish Family Health Study. We wanted to share some of this ...

Easy & painless DNA collection for infants, children and non-spitters

By: Shauna White on 08/10/10 12:22

Genetic research into diseases and conditions that predominantly affect children has always been particularly challenging. Traditionally, when high quality and high quantity ...

Rinse, Swab or Spit -- What's the real source of DNA in saliva?

By: Brian Smith on 03/31/10 11:00

Saliva is one of the most accessible of our body's bio-fluids making saliva sample collection easy and non-invasive. Saliva also harbours a wide spectrum of genetic data that ...

DNA from Saliva.... The Newest Tool in Cancer Research?

By: Shauna White on 03/09/10 11:32

Recent statistics suggest cancer mortality rates are declining due to better prevention, early detection methods and improved treatments, yet so much remains to be done. With ...

Hunting for Cancer Genes with DNA from Saliva

By: Shauna White on 02/09/10 12:57

Every day, it seems, scientists learn something new about how our genes work. One fascinating area of research involves understanding the role of our genes in the initiation, ...