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Tagged: genetics

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Science, Health and Technology
5:47 pm
Thu July 19, 2012

Unwinding the helix: using genetics to treat childhood cancer

Credit Scott Suppelsa
Washington University’s Todd Druley uses a magnet to separate DNA-coated magnetic beads from a liquid reaction buffer, to isolate specific genes from patient DNA for sequencing analysis.
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Pediatric leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. There are about 3,000 new cases in the United States every year, typically in children between the ages of four and six.

With treatment, about three-quarters of affected children are able to beat the disease.

But for those with what’s known as “high risk” leukemia, the odds of survival are much worse.

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