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The Rockefeller University, Office of Technology Transfer
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Rockefeller
IP Corner:
Recently Issued Patents
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Sohail Tavazoie, M.D.,
Ph.D.
and colleagues:
"Treatment and diagnosis of melanoma." Licensed to Rgenix, Inc.
Paul Greengard,
Ph.D. and colleagues:
"Methods for the treatment of a-Beta related disorders and compositions therefor." L
icensed to Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc.
For patent related inquiries, contact Joe Cagno, Assistant Director, Intellectual Property,
jcagno@rockefeller.edu
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From The Rockefeller University Newswire:
Study tests the "three-hit" theory of autism
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Since the first case was documented in the United States in 1938, the causes of autism have remained elusive. Hundreds of genes, as well as environmental exposures, have been implicated in these brain disorders. Sex also seems to have something to do with it: About 80 percent of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder are boys.
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The Rockefeller University
Innovation Alerts!
Quarterly Newsletter from the
Office of Technology Transfer
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Technology Spotlight: Research Tool
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Klaas Max, Ph.D. and
Thomas Tuschl, Ph.D. |
Recovery of High Quality RNA and DNA from Biofluids
Ribonucleic acids (RNA) play a unique role in human diseases because of their ability to regulate the stability or rate of protein synthesis. Because of this, RNA has the potential to be used in routine diagnosis or prognosis of various types of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular, kidney or autoimmune diseases. Detection of RNA in body fluids can in principle predict disease and correlate to patient outcome, which makes them excellent minimally-invasive diagnostic and prognostic markers. However, current methods of extracellular RNA (exRNA) isolation from cell-free biofluids are known to result in significant discrepancies in downstream sequence analysis, caused by low isolation efficiencies and remaining nuclease activities. Furthermore, most conventional methods cannot be applied using automated liquid handling systems, and they do not allow isolation of exRNA/exDNA from the same sample.
Klaas Max, Ph.D. and colleagues from the lab of Dr. Thomas Tuschl, have developed an efficient method to sequentially isolate high-quality exRNA and exDNA from nuclease-rich and RNA/DNA-poor, low-volume, human clinical biofluid samples (serum, plasma, and urine). Their approach efficiently inactivates nucleases throughout the entire isolation procedure while optimizing their removal, thereby improving the recovery and integrity of exRNA/exDNA that is recovered and maximizing their yield from biofluid samples. This patent-pending method is adapted for high-throughput screening environments utilizing automated sample handling technologies but can also be used in lower-throughput clinical research laboratories.
For questions about licensing this technology, contact Manjula Donepudi, Assistant Director, at mdonepudi@rockefeller.edu.
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Technology Spotlight: Research Tool
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Luciano Marraffini, Ph.D. |
Hyper-active CRISPR-Cas9 variants for sensitive chemical detection through molecular recording
CRISPR-Cas (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats- and their associated proteins) is a prokaryotic adaptive immune system that has generated intense interest as a gene-editing tool in all areas of biomedical research. In the CRISPR immune response, Cas9 can associate with an integrase complex to insert an invader's (usually viral) foreign DNA, known as a spacer sequence, in between the repeats of the bacterial host's CRISPR genomic locus. The spacer sequences are then processed into small RNAs that guide Cas nucleases to the invading DNA, thereby cutting and destroying the invader's genome.
Luciano Marraffini, Ph.D. and his team have identified Cas9 point mutations that significantly promote the rate of spacer acquisition, or invader/viral DNA, into the bacterial host's CRISPR locus. These highly 'evolved' Cas9 variants increase the frequency of foreign DNA integration into the host genome, making the integrated invader DNA easier to detect. When combined with synthetic biology technologies as molecular recording devices, they can potentially boost the detection sensitivity of low frequency events.
For questions about licensing this technology, contact Nidhi Sabharwal, Assistant Director, at nsabharwal@rockefeller.edu.
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For feedback, questions, or suggestions on future newsletter content including upcoming events, news flashes, and articles please email techtransfer@rockefeller.edu.
Sincerely,
The Rockefeller University Office of Technology Transfer
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