If you find “Coke versus Pepsi” to be a major dilemma, choosing your preferred breeding method for healthier pigs could prove a challenge. That said, many have strong opinions on the breeding question, and their thoughts could help shape research on improving disease resilience in the pork industry through genomics. In particular, scientists on the Genome Alberta-led project sought the public’s views on three options: conventional breeding, selective breeding using genomics, and gene editing. “All…

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Patients suffering from rare diseases are faced with yet another tragedy. Cures and treatments are not likely to be available before time runs out. That’s partly a matter of economics and partly due to insufficient study material. The very fact that a disease is rare means it ranks low on research budgets and that specimens for study are too few to conduct any meaningful research anyway. The good news is that a new bioinformatics tool…

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Technology originally created through a Genome Alberta funded project is now available to commercial cattle producers to improve their cross-bred herds. All producers need to do is send in a hair sample from the animal to be tested and they will receive an analysis of the relevant genetic information crucial to improving on-farm breeding programs. With full information on the breed composition and vigour score they can make decisions to help raise more feed efficient…

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Enhancing knowledge is a worthy goal, but it won’t buy you a new barn. With that in mind, researchers on the Genome Alberta beef cattle project took aim at tangible benefits for producers. Given their progress in developing more accurate genomically-enhanced breeding values for the commercial cattle industry, they seem to have hit the mark. “One of the most notable outcomes is the commercialization of EnVigour HX™,” said Dr. John Basarab, co-lead on the project,…

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In many ways, dealing with data is akin to tucking in your toddler: Simple in theory, yet fraught with challenge. As genomic research success hinges on large data sets, managing that information properly is vital to enhancing disease resilience in the pork sector. “This project deals with a lot of pigs, so I created a web-accessible database for searching, viewing and sharing the huge data sets we generate,” said Jason Grant, research associate – bioinformatics…

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Since it was first diagnosed in 1967, chronic wasting disease has been spreading throughout the US and Canada and has also been reported in Europe. It is a fatal disease among cervids (deer, elk, moose, reindeer) and can only be diagnosed after the animal has died. There have been no reported cases of it spreading to people, but there are still concerns about the possibility – but not apparently a worry among hunters. Hunters have…

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No man is an island, and neither is his DNA an isolated incident; enter population genomics to illuminate your evolutionary path with others in your area. The same applies for any species from the microscopic to the Blue Whale. So much additional information is a treasure beyond measure. It’s also almost beyond the abilities of computing. Almost. This is how it works. Sequencing a genome and unfolding its secrets was once thought to be the…

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Gene editing is a technology which makes it possible for DNA to inserted, deleted, modified or replaced in the genome of a living organism. It’s promise lies in the ability to ‘fix’ a gene responsible for potentially debilitating or fatal diseases. It also brings with it significant ethical challenges which will ultimately affect us all. Françoise Baylis is a University Research Professor at Dalhousie University and the author of Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics…

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                    This past week, one of my local universities was in lock-down. Students were kept in classrooms and researchers locked themselves into their labs. Apparently, someone had been spotted with a machine gun on campus. As it turns out, the stress and fear were triggered by an art student who created a papier-mache machine gun and carried it unconcealed to the classroom. The social media universe had many unkind words for this student, jackass perhaps…

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Genome sciences and bioinformatics research in the province is getting a huge boost thanks to a $3-million investment and the establishment of BioNet Alberta, a research network featuring the University of Lethbridge, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, Genome Alberta, Genome Canada, Genome Alberta and other partners. The network is supported by Genome Canada’s Regional Priorities Partnership Program (RP3) and features a BioNet hub at each university, with the newly established Southern Alberta…

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