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Yourgene Health has recently launched IONA ^® Care , an advanced prenatal screening test that performs whole-genome analysis to measure the likelihood that a pregnant woman is carrying a fetus with one the most common trisomies (trisomy 21, 18 and 13), any other Autosomal Aneuploidy (AA) or a Sex Chromosome Aneuploidy (SCA). IONA ^® Care is available from the Yourgene Genomic Services laboratory in Manchester, UK. The test is available as a menu, enabling pregnant women, their families

The COVID-19 pandemic presented huge challenges worldwide. In response to the unprecedented need for COVID-19 PCR testing, the UK government set up a new network of Lighthouse laboratories across the country to provide the required capacity for testing thousands of samples each day. These laboratories proved a vital part of the test and trace strategy but were also under immense pressure to meet their targets and, following an investigation by Panorama , it was found that

Innovation and creativity are two pillars at the heart of technological and scientific advances. The instrumental role they play has been recognised by the United Nations (UNN), who have designated a special day to raise awareness of the importance of innovation in culture and economic growth worldwide: 21st April. World Creativity and Innovation Day (UNN) is a day to encourage people to “think outside the box”, find new perspectives which push personal growth, identify different

In recent years, fertility treatments and the fact women are having babies later has made multiple births more common. In 2016, around 12,000 sets of twins and about 190 sets of triplets or more were born in the UK. That means about 1 in every 65 births in the UK today are twins, triplets or more. ¹ Extensive studies have been carried out for cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing in singleton pregnancies with sample numbers into

Recent reports in the media from a collection of European countries suggest that there may be cause for concern with regards to the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and abnormal blood clotting. According to Norway’s medicines agency (NoMA), four new cases of “serious blood clotting in adults” have been identified following a recent review (1). Austria have suspended the use of one particular batch of the vaccine after two events, including an individual diagnosed with multiple

The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the beginning of the global COVID-19 outbreak, the diagnostic and research community has undertaken an unprecedented effort to understand how best to manage, eradicate and prevent the disease. In recent months we have seen the rollout of ambitious vaccination schedules worldwide, as well as the strengthening of

Last week we had the great news that a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 should soon be available. Thanks to the work of Pfizer and  BioNTech , we may have the opportunity to start vaccinating those at highest risk of severe disease towards the end of this year  and into 2021.  The interim analysis of their clinical trial has indicated that it is more than 90% effective in preventing COVID - 19 in participants who haven’t

Since the beginning of the global COVID-19 outbreak, the diagnostic and research community has undertaken an unprecedented effort to understand how best to manage, eradicate and prevent the disease. Two key pillars in the fight against the pandemic are establishing a robust testing strategy and implementing procedures and processes to reduce the burden on healthcare systems.  

Independent SAGE recently published a document containing core recommendations for how best to optimize and develop the current testing