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Genomics plays a vital role in driving Québec's economic future. That is why Génome Québec aims at advancing knowledge in genomics by funding major research projects. In this section, you will discover all the latest achievements in the field of genomics.

Epigenetic study tabs genes linked to allergies, asthma

Feb. 23, 2015

Researchers from Canada, the UK, Sweden and the US have discovered more than 30 genes that strongly affect an antibody involved in allergies and asthma. Some of the genes could provide targets for drugs to treat those conditions, according to the international team’s study, published online in Nature on Feb. 18.


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CHU Sainte-Justine - creation of a Centre for Rare Genetic Disorders

Feb. 18, 2015

Génome Québec is pleased to learn that a $3-million donation from Rio Tionto enables the CHU Sainte-Justine to lay the groundwork for a Centre for Rare Genetic Disorders to support some 50,000 sick children in the province. The Centre, headed by Dr. Jacques Michaud, will ensure better synergy between various existing platforms, including the Clinical Genomic Centre in Pediatrics created in parnership with Génome Québec.  


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Sex has another benefit: it makes humans less prone to disease over time

Feb. 16, 2015

Mixing our genes through sex helps purge us of disease mutations

Researchers at the University of Montreal and the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre in Montréal, Canada have just shown how humanity’s predispositions to disease gradually decrease the more we mix our genetic material together. This discovery was finally made possible by the availability in recent years of repositories of biological samples and genetic data from different populations around the globe.


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Unique collaboration to combat deadly disease found in pigs

Feb. 9, 2015

The Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PED) kills young piglets at an astonishing rate with a near 100% mortality rate in suckling pigs. A Canadian effort has been launched to understand and stop the disease to protect the young pigs and to aid the pig industry in North America.


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Forest Genomics: How to predict the best trees for reforestation

Feb. 4, 2015

A research team in forest genomics has developed tests that will significantly reduce the time needed to select the best trees for reforestation. By analyzing the genome of white spruce only a few weeks old, the researchers are now able to predict the characteristics these trees will have 20 years later thanks to their breakthrough discovery.


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Natural Resources and the Environment - Upcoming funding opportunity

Feb. 2, 2015

Genome Canada is pleased to advise the research community of an upcoming funding opportunity – the 2015 Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition Natural Resources and the Environment: Sector Challenges – Genomic Solutions. This Competition is anticipated to be formally launched in Spring 2015 with detailed guidelines and application forms available at that time.


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