Press Releases

Study on aging looks at sequence changes over time

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- A recent study of the effects of age on DNA sequences in blood cells suggests the human genome undergoes more changes during a person’s lifetime than previously thought.  
 
As cells divide, the DNA sequence inherited from parents has to be copied. This process can lead to mutations in the DNA sequence, and some of these mutations involve large segments of chromosomes that have been deleted or duplicated in the newly divided cells. 

According to Devin Absher, Ph.D, faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and co-author of a recent publication on aging, the number of these large mutations increases as we age. "Even more surprising," said Absher, "the accumulation of these large mutations is much more dynamic than we anticipated. Some mutations can rise and fall in frequency in blood cells over decades within an individual."

AAAS announces 2011 fellows

HudsonAlpha leader among influential group
WASHINGTON and HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Richard M. Myers, Ph.D., president and director of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“Considering the many exciting advances and discoveries taking place across the spectrum of science, I am honored to be included among this year’s fellows,” said Myers. Myers, formerly chair of the department of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, stepped up to guide genomic research when HudsonAlpha launched its facilities and programs in 2008.

Mite-y genomic resources for protecting bioenergy crops

HudsonAlpha investigator part of Department of Energy team focusing on tiny pest
 
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. and HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- For a pest that isn't quite the size of a comma on a keyboard, the two-spotted spider mite can do a disproportionate amount of damage. These web-spinners extract the nutrients they need from leaves of more than a thousand different plant species, including bioenergy feedstocks and food staples. The cost of chemically controlling spider mites to counteract reduced harvest yields hovers around $1 billion annually, reflecting their significant economic impact.

Patent approved for HudsonAlpha Institute

Han lab turns out first patent for institute
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has been awarded a patent for a new, rapid response method to detect pathogens from clinical samples. The method— amplicon rescue multiplex polymerase chain reaction for amplification of multiple targets— is highly sensitive and as the name implies, can differentiate between pathogens that symptomatically display very similarly among populations. It is the first patent awarded for institute-generated intellectual property.
 

Sock it to 'em!

Education partnership kicks up excitement in Alabama classrooms
 
HUNTSVILLE and MONTGOMERY Ala. - Lab coats, safety goggles, pipette tips, microwell plates, centrifuge tubes: Pretty standard issue for any biotech center or institute, right?  But, 42,300 pairs of socks?
 

HudsonAlpha and University of Michigan awarded $7.8 million to study bipolar disorder

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the University of Michigan grant monies totaling $7.8 million to identify genes and pathways that contribute to the risk for bipolar disorder.

HudsonAlpha genomicist refines focus on developmental delays

Study promotes improved diagnostics for severe pediatric disease
HUNTSVILLE, Ala - A study of almost 16,000 children with intellectual disability and various congenital defects is providing insight to more precise connections to anomalies in the genome.  Greg Cooper, Ph.D., a faculty investigator at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, together with colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle, and a dozen other organizations, identified 59 potentially pathogenic copy number variants and associated genes that appear to be linked to such disorders. The paper is currently available in the online version of Nature Genetics.

Multigenerational study emphasizes importance of genome sequence in gene regulation

HUNTSVILLE, Ala - Research at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Duke University, published in PLoS Genetics, uses genome-wide sequencing in families to demonstrate that the sequence of human DNA contributes much more to its own regulation than had been believed. 

HudsonAlpha researchers demonstrate sporadic mutations may be responsible for half of schizophrenia cases

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Although it affects less than 1 percent of the global population, schizophrenia exacts a large toll in terms of expense and human suffering.  A new study from researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, with colleagues from Columbia University in New York and the University of Pretoria in South Africa, indicate non-familial genetic mutations may account for about half of schizophrenia cases.
 

The Cancer Genome Atlas completes detailed ovarian cancer analysis

HudsonAlpha Institute contributes to largest cancer genome study from NIH consortium
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HUNTSVILLE, Ala - Integrating 500 patient samples and multiple genomic technologies, The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network has, according to a release by the National Institutes of Health, assembled the most comprehensive view of cancer genes for any cancer type to date.  The analyses of data are reported in the June 30 issue of Nature.