MaRS

MaRS tenant identifies the danger-marker for cancer

Researchers at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital have identified a biomarker that appears to identify aggressive thyroid cancers.

The team, led by Dr. Paul Walfish, has shown that thyroid cancer biopsies from patients with a reduced overall survival had increased cleavage of the EpCAM molecule compared to those taken from patients with with longer survival. The cytoplasmic tail of the cleaved molecule (Ep-ICD) accumulates in the nucleus and is hypothesized to play a role in the increased proliferation of these cells.

The future of genetics looks bright

What’s the future of genetic diagnostics? Where do the commercialization opportunities exist? Now we know.

On June 22, the Ontario Genomics Institute and MaRS Future of Medicine^TM jointly held “Dx2010: Markers to Markets” – a workshop focused on best practices and regulatory considerations for developing gene-based diagnostic and prognostic tests.

Diabetes - it's the real thing!

We’ve had several blogs on the topic of prevention of type two diabetes (T2D) over the past few years (see Want to live longer,  Want to live (even) longer and How to avoid diabetes).  The reason for our interest is that T2D looks set to be the fastest growing health issue in North America in the next couple of decades.

Diabetes affects over 150 million people worldwide and this number is expected to double by 2025.  In North America, over 90% of all cases of diabetes are T2D.

Short of radical lifestyle changes (strict exercise regimen and substantial weight loss) is there anything we can do to prevent the development of this insidious, life-threatening disease?

A group of Toronto researchers and their colleagues in Hamilton and London have recently shown that combination of two diabetes medications at lowered doses can significantly delay the onset of T2D.

And third place goes to...

The second annual Scientific American worldVIEW survey results have been published.

The take-home message is that Canada ranked third in the world for innovative capacity – a composite score based on ratings of intellectual property, intensity, education/workforce, enterprise support and foundations.

Did Craig Venter create life?

There has been a huge amount of media attention and a torrent of breathless commentary concerning Craig Venter’s recent publication, “Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome”.

Much of the fuss stems from the assertion that the Venter group has created synthetic life – created a new living organism from inert materials.  Is this really true?