Trying to evaluate disease resistance in pigs without employing sick animals is like testing a wetsuit in the desert: doomed from the start. Of course, finding that happy medium where there is enough disease present to get results, without having more than is necessary, can be tricky. As researchers strive to harness genomics and improve disease resilience and sustainability in Canadian pork production, managing the health status of the Natural Disease Challenge Model is paramount…

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Chronic Wasting Disease is making headlines this summer. From articles in the Tyee, to reporting from the Canadian Press, stories have appeared across the country with a discouraging message. It is not as bad as the reporting would make you believe. Genome Alberta supported by Genome Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Alberta Prion Research Institute, Western Economic Diversification, and a variety of other organizations, are making headway. What is known? Chronic wasting disease (CWD)…

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Scientists using an experimental treatment have slowed the progression of scrapie, a degenerative central nervous disease caused by prions, in laboratory mice and greatly extended the rodents’ lives, according to a new report in JCI Insight. The scientists used antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), synthetic compounds that inhibit the formation of specific proteins. Prion diseases occur when normally harmless prion protein molecules become abnormal and gather in clusters and filaments in the body, including the brain. The…

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                         There are two general ways to get genetic counselling in Alberta. One is through genomic testing done by direct-to-consumer online testing companies; the other provider is Alberta Health Services. Note that in the former you are a consumer, while in the latter you are receiving health services. I received an invitation to enrol in a six-week online course provided by the Wellcome Genome Campus introducing genetic counselling. In Canada, there are two major pathways…

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For decades, mankind has relied on experimental data gathered by traditional research means to conquer disease. Unfortunately, that can take decades or longer to render results. New artificial intelligence (AI) powered bioinformatics, or computational biology, can predict how diseases and symptoms will react to possible treatments and cures in hours, days or weeks instead.   Indeed, AI can identify potential treatments and cures just as it can model how cells will react to them. Further,…

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The Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics draws on a multi-disciplinary team of faculty members to work with participants to build Indigenous capacity in genomics and scientific literacy. Apart from the objective of having more Indigenous geneticists to work with the participants, a long term goal of the SING program is to recruit people willing to explore the challenges that Indigenous people encounter when science meets culture. In this year's program, that meant studying…

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A major new initiative that adds genomics technologies to traditional geoscience aims to reduce the risk for oil exploration in Nova Scotia’s offshore. The $6.5 million project, Validation and Integration of Genomics Solutions for Offshore Oil Exploration in Nova Scotia and Beyond, was announced today by the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, as one of 20 projects across Canada awarded through Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP). Other major project partners…

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Genomics research is driving innovation across fields such as health, forestry, agriculture, fisheries and energy, leading to major developments to our economy while improving Canadians’ health and environment. That’s why, today, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, was at the International Wheat Congress, to announce $41.2 million in federal funding to support 19 research projects. An additional $75.8 million is being invested by provincial governments, business and research partners, for a total…

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Blending Indigenous knowledge and the more traditional approach to science "is hard" said one of the participants in the Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics training program held recently at the University of Alberta.  It made for a busy and intense week but the program sets out to do exactly that  -   incorporate 2 knowledge systems under the same umbrella.  With the study of Chronic Wasting Disease running throughout the week, that blending of…

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This year's Canadian Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics took place in July at the University of Alberta and focused on Chronic Wasting Disease or CWD. The fatal disease which affects the deer family, is prevalent in Alberta and is found in Saskatchewan, Quebec, 26 states in the US, and in Norway, Finland, and South Korea. As CWD has an impact on Indigenous culture it was a good fit for the program which brings…

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