Phase Scientific International Ltd. raised $34 million in a series A round to accelerate research and development of its early disease detection technology for multiple cancers, women's health issues, and infectious diseases.

Abcellera Biologics Inc. has received a no objection letter from Health Canada authorizing its clinical trial application (CTA) for ABCL-635.

Mirvie Inc. continues the development of precision medicine for pregnancy-related conditions with its Encompass blood test to predict preeclampsia risk and individualized support to head off the life-threatening complication that affects one in 12 pregnancies. The test, which received U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation in 2022, is now available to order online with clinician review via telehealth.

“Just simply getting old, from age 50 to 75, increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease by 100-fold, which really dwarfed 10-fold increase in risk, conferred by all known risk factors combined, including APOE genotype, being a female, hypertension, smoking, physical inactivity and diabetes.

A large-scale study has revealed the impact of germline variants on proteins in 10 cancer types. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) conducted a precision proteogenomic analysis in a pan-cancer study with data from 1,064 patients, identifying tumor heterogeneity and tumorigenesis associated with heritable genetic alterations.

“Just simply getting old, from age 50 to 75, increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease by 100-fold, which really dwarfed 10-fold increase in risk, conferred by all known risk factors combined, including APOE genotype, being a female, hypertension, smoking, physical inactivity and diabetes. And this trend stays true for almost all chronic diseases,” Yousin Suh told her audience earlier this week during a talk for the NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series.

On Jan. 21, economist Jay Bhattacharya spoke publicly for the first time since becoming the current NIH director, addressing the NIH Council of Councils in an open session. The goal of Bhattacharya’s remarks seemed to be to reassure troubled staffers. His reassurances, however, were given in the face of another blow to NIH research.

A large-scale study has revealed the impact of germline variants on proteins in 10 cancer types. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) conducted a precision proteogenomic analysis in a pan-cancer study with data from 1,064 patients, identifying tumor heterogeneity and tumorigenesis associated with heritable genetic alterations. The results provide a broad view of cancer risk that could be useful for patient stratification and the design of prevention strategies.

AI could significantly improve the value of patient recalls following mammography, but so far radiologists seem reluctant to rely on computer-aided readings. Radiologists tend to trust their own judgment – and that of their colleagues – in mammogram readings far more than AI-based diagnostics, even when the AI is much more accurate, a prospective trial analysis published in Radiology by Karolinska Institutet researchers found.