Researchers use Helicos platform to find evidence of RNA copying in human cells

August 2, 2010 By MassDevice staff Leave a Comment

Helicos BioSciences Corp.’s (NSDQ:HLCS) technology continues to prove useful on the cutting edge of cancer research.

Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists employed the Cambridge, Mass.-based company’s single-molecule sequencing platform find evidence of RNA copying mechanisms in human cells.

The results showed that SMS technology could become an important part of comprehensive genetic profiling, according to Pitt assistant professor of computational biology Bino John.

The research data confirmed an unproven hypothesis that mammalian cells are capable of synthesizing RNA by copying RNA molecules directly, the company said.

“This class of non-coding RNA molecules has been historically overlooked because available sequencing platforms are often unable to provide accurate detection and quantification,” said Helicos Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Patrice Milos in a prepared statement.

The research, funded in part by the American Cancer Society, NIH and Helicos were published in the Nature article "New class of gene-termini-associated human RNAs suggests a novel RNA copying mechanism."

The results represented more good news for Helicos’ new diagnostics business. The struggling genomics company and Mass. General Hospital demonstrated the clinical effectiveness of its molecule sequencing technology in study results release in late July 2010.

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