Applied Biosystems launches new cancer genome study

Applied Biosystems has launched a project to advance the study of cancer genomics.

The company is working alongside Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute – a leading genome research foundation – to discover the genetic underpinnings of cancer in the human genome.

It revealed that researchers from the UK and US are using five of the firm’s SOLiD systems to attempt to sequence the genomes of a small-cell lung cancer cell line and a non-cancerous one.

The organisation described the work as an attempt to crack "one of science’s most challenging mysteries".

Shaf Yousaf, president of the firm’s molecular and cell biology genomic analysis division, said: "We believe that the SOLiD system is well suited to carry out studies of complex genomes and will play a significant role in new discoveries in cancer research."

Applied Biosystems claims to be a leader in the life science marketplace focused on research and testing, and last month it launched a range of new microRNA analysis tools.