Biomolecular Function Discovery Division
The Singapore National Precision Medicine Strategy
Precision medicine promises to transform healthcare for groups and individuals through early disease detection, refining diagnoses and tailoring treatments. Analysis of large-scale genomic-phenotypic databases is a critical enabler of precision medicine.
ReadWhole Genomic Characterization of Streptococcus iniae Isolates from Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) and Preliminary Evidence of Cross-Protective Immunization
Lates calcarifer, also known as Barramundi or Asian seabass, is a highly productive and fast-growing species that is well suited to large-scale aquaculture due to its attractive harvestable yields (premium fish). This fish has been envisioned as having the potential to be the “Salmon of Tropics”. Cultivating Lates calcarifer in aquaculture poses challenges, as the dense populations that make such aquaculture commercially viable facilitate the rapid spread of infectious diseases, which in turn significantly impact yield
ReadApplication of AllerCatPro 2.0 for protein safety assessments of consumer products
Foreign proteins are potentially immunogenic, and a proportion of these are able to induce immune responses that result in allergic sensitization. Subsequent exposure of sensitized subjects to the inducing protein can provoke a variety of allergic reactions that may be severe, or even fatal. It has therefore been recognized for some time that it is important to determine a priori whether a given protein has the potential to induce allergic responses in exposed subjects.
ReadSystems Biology and Omics Approaches for Complex Human Diseases
For many years, there has been general interest in developing virtual cells or digital twin models [1,2]. This is due to (i) a purely curiosity-driven need to build theories of life and, (ii) the potential to quickly and safely find cures for diseases by testing drugs in silico before testing them on actual organisms.
ReadGlobally invariant behavior of oncogenes and random genes at population but not at single cell level
Cancer is widely considered a genetic disease. Notably, recent works have highlighted that every human gene may possibly be associated with cancer. Thus, the distinction between genes that drive oncogenesis and those that are associated to the disease, but do not play a role, requires attention
ReadSpike-Independent Infection of Human Coronavirus 229E in Bat Cells
Many viruses, including coronaviruses, originated from bats. Yet, we know little about how these viruses switch between hosts and enter human populations. Coronaviruses have succeeded in establishing in humans at least five times, including endemic coronaviruses and the recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
ReadA sweeter future: Using protein language models for exploring sweeter brazzein homologs
The dramatic rise in obesity and diabetes in recent decades has seen the widespread use of artificial sweeteners in food and drinks as sugar replacements (Gardner et al., 2012). By replacing sugar with these artificial sweeteners, blood glucose level can be better regulated and calorie consumption reduced whilst maintaining food palatability with its sweet taste (Gardner et al., 2012). However, recent data around the detrimental side effects of consuming artificial sweeteners highlight the need for other sweeteners (Bueno-Hernández et al., 2019, Debras et al., 2022, Debras et al., 2022, Suez et al., 2014).
ReadGeneralized metabolic flux analysis framework provides mechanism-based predictions of ophthalmic complications in type 2 diabetes patients
Chronic metabolic diseases arise from changes in metabolic fluxes through biomolecular pathways and gene networks accumulated over the lifetime of an individual.
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