Think of life as a house: if DNA molecules are blueprints, then messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are orders, describing the required parts (proteins) and when they should arrive. But putting in many orders doesn’t always mean you’ll get all of the parts on time — maybe there’s a delay with your vendor or delivery service. Similarly, mRNA levels alone do not dictate protein levels. Today in ACS Central Science, researchers report a method to address that issue.

David Tirrell, Kelly Burke and Katie Antilla note that in order to better understand how genes are regulated, one needs to see the mRNA when it is at the site of protein synthesis. Using fluorescence probes, the researchers designed a technique that shows mRNA when it comes in contact with giant protein synthesizing machines called ribosomes. They used this method to record the synthesis of proteins and to measure cellular responses to iron. Unlike previous methods, their tool works without the need to engineer an mRNA of interest. Tirrell notes that the method is applicable to essentially any type of RNA, and could be modified to visualize other types of interactions in the cell.

American Chemical Societywww.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2017/may/imaging-mrna-right-where-it-is-made-at-the-site-of-translation.html

New enzymatic test for HbA1c
The worldwide rapid rise in diabetes is a challenge for treatment as well as for diagnosis and monitoring. With the new test HbA1c net FS, DiaSys Diagnostics System has introduced an innovative product with highest accuracy setting new standards for reliable results in diagnosing and monitoring diabetes. Based on enzymatic measurement Hba1c net FS ensures highest specificity without interferences by hemoglobin variants as well as outstanding precision. Using the fully automated process including on-board hemolysis on the DiaSys analysers, BioMajesty^® and respons^®910, labs of every size can optimize their workflow for HbA1c.
Several other major product launches were made in time for DiaSys’ 25th anniversary. Under the trademark QDx DiaSys announced a point-of-care product line comprising test strips and devices for various diagnostic fields such as cardiac, vitamin D, allergy, anemia, lipids and urinalysis.  Furthermore, respons^®910UP was presented offering improved handling and performance for the small to medium lab (up to 150 tests/hour).
25 years of success as a mid-size company in the challenging and ever changing market of in-vitro diagnostics – DiaSys takes this opportunity to thank all employees, customers and partners for their contribution and confidence and looks forward to a common prospering future.www.diasys-diagnostics.com

Researchers have identified a novel mutation that may be associated with prostate cancer in African American men, according to a new study.

Scientists have long known that a huge variety of DNA mutations can lead to cancer. Some proteins can repair DNA mutations, but when repair proteins are mutated themselves, cancer may arise. Knowing which mutations are linked to which cancer types helps scientists develop new targeted treatments and detection strategies.

To improve knowledge of mutations associated with prostate cancer, Alice Walker of The University of North Texas, and colleagues searched for relevant mutations in genes that code for a family of DNA repair proteins known as AlkBH.

The researchers ran two separate datasets of DNA sequences through a software program called HyDn-SNP-S, which had previously been developed by members of the team. The software allowed them to compare DNA sequences of AlkBH family proteins from healthy genomes, to those found in genomes derived from prostate cancer tumours. In both datasets, a mutation in the gene that codes for a protein called ALKBH7 was significantly associated with prostate cancer in African American men.

Next, the researchers used computer simulations to investigate how the ALKBH7 mutation, R191Q, would affect the protein’s structure. They found that the mutation might cause a structural change that significantly decreases the ability of the protein to perform its normal role. Spectroscopy experiments with actual protein samples confirmed these predictions.

According to study co-author G. Andrés Cisneros of the University of North Texas, the next steps for research are further experimental exploration of how the R191Q mutation is related to prostate cancer, as well as investigation of potential new avenues for detection and treatment based on the mutation.

‘Scanning the DNA of individuals in the target population for this mutation could help indicate those with a higher risk of developing prostate cancer before symptoms are evident,’ Walker says.

EurekAlertwww.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/p-nmm021617.php

With its acquisition of Vacuette España and Vacuette Portugal, its long-standing distribution partners, Greiner Bio-One is further building on its international market position. Customers in Spain and Portugal will be served directly by Greiner Bio-One’s own distribution subsidiaries with immediate effect.
The two companies, Vacuette España, S.A. and Vacuette Portugal Importação e Exportação de Material Hospitalar, S.A., which the Greiner Group has worked together with successfully for over 20 years, were previously exclusive distributors for Greiner Bio-One International on the Iberian Peninsula. “Having our own local subsidiaries will bring us closer to our customers and enable us to cater to our markets even more effectively at an international level. The acquisition of Vacuette España and Vacuette Portugal is another key step in our globalisation strategy,” says Axel Kühner, Chairman of the Management Board of the Greiner Group.
“Following the establishment of our own distribution subsidiaries in Turkey and Italy last year, the new Greiner Bio-One sites in Spain and Portugal are the next step in systematic implementation of our distribution strategy in Europe,” adds Rainer Perneker, CEO of Greiner Bio-One International. The two subsidiaries in Madrid and Porto will continue to supply directly to their customers on both markets.
The acquisition agreements were officially signed at the end of February 2017 and entered into effect immediately on 1 March. “By attaining greater proximity to customers, we aim to develop the two markets on the Iberian Peninsula in an even more targeted way. The acquisitions mark the continuation of our growth over many years and allow us to step up services and customer care at the local level,” says Manfred Buchberger, CEO of Greiner Bio-One Preanalytics.
 
www.gbo.com

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a desktop diagnosis tool that detects the presence of harmful bacteria in a blood sample in a matter of hours instead of days.  The breakthrough was made possible by a combination of proprietary chemistry, innovative electrical engineering and high-end imaging and analysis techniques powered by machine learning.  

To identify low levels of harmful bacteria among a large number of human blood cells, researchers for the first time melted bacterial DNA in 20,000 extremely small simultaneous reactions. Each reaction contained only 20 picoliters—a scale that is hard to picture: one drop of rain contains hundreds of thousands of picoliters.

Each type of DNA has a specific signature as it comes apart during melting. As the melting process is imaged and analysed, researchers can use machine learning to determine which types of DNA appear in blood samples. During experiments, the system accurately identified, 99 percent of the time, DNA sequences from bacteria causing food-borne illnesses and pneumonia—in less than four hours.  

“Analysing this many reactions at the same time at this small a scale had never been attempted before,” said Stephanie Fraley, a professor of bioengineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego and the paper’s lead author. “Most molecular tests look at DNA on a much larger scale and look for just one type of bacteria at a time. We analyse all the bacteria in a sample. This is a much more holistic approach.”

Current methods used to detect and identify bacteria rely on cultures, which can take days. That is too long to provide physicians with an effective and timely diagnosis tool—as anyone who has been prescribed antibiotics while waiting for test results knows.

It all starts with one milliliter of blood, which researchers inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne bacterium that causes about 260 deaths a year in the United States, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes everything from sinus infections, to pneumonia, to meningitis.

Researchers isolated all DNA from the blood sample. The DNA was then placed on a digital chip that allowed each piece to independently multiply in its own small reaction. For the process to work at such small scales—each well containing DNA in the chip was only 20 picoliters in volume—researchers used a proprietary mix of chemicals subject to a provisional patent.

The chip with the amplified DNA was placed in an innovative high-throughput microscope that Fraley and her team designed. The DNA was then heated in increments of 0.2 degrees Celsius, causing it to melt at temperatures between 50 to 90 degrees Celsius –about 120 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the DNA double-helix melts, the bonds holding together the DNA strands break. Depending on the DNA’s sequence, the bonds have different strengths and that changes the way the strands unwind from each other. This creates a unique sequence-dependent fingerprint, which researchers can detect using a special dye. The dye causes the unwinding process to give off fluorescent light, creating what researchers call a melting curve—a unique signature for each type of bacteria.

When engineers imaged the melting process with the high-throughput microscope, they were able to capture the bacteria’s melting curves. They then analysed the curves with a machine learning algorithm they developed.

In previous work, the algorithm was trained on 37 different types of bacteria undergoing different reactions in different conditions. The researchers showed that it was able to identify bacteria strains with 99 percent accuracy.

University of California – San Diegoucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/new_method_to_identify_bacteria_in_blood_samples_works_in_hours_instead_of