Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies

About: Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies is a nonprofit organization based out in San Diego, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Antigen & T cell. The organization has 2323 authors who have published 2217 publications receiving 112618 citations.

Real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and its potential use in clinical diagnosis.

Abstract: qRT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription-PCR) has become the benchmark for the detection and quantification of RNA targets and is being utilized increasingly in novel clinical diagnostic assays. Quantitative results obtained by this technology are not only more informative than qualitative data, but simplify assay standardization and quality management. qRT-PCR assays are most established for the detection of viral load and therapy monitoring, and the development of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)-associated coronavirus qRT-PCR assays provide a textbook example of the value of this technology for clinical diagnostics. The widespread use of qRT-PCR assays for diagnosis and the detection of disease-specific prognostic markers in leukaemia patients provide further examples of their usefulness. Their value for the detection of disease-associated mRNA expressed by circulating tumour cells in patients with solid malignancies is far less apparent, and the clinical significance of results obtained from such tests remains unclear. This is because of conceptual reservations as well as technical limitations that can interfere with the diagnostic specificity of qRT-PCR assays. Therefore, although it is evident that qRT-PCR assay has become a useful and important technology in the clinical diagnostic laboratory, it must be used appropriately and it is essential to be aware of its limitations if it is to fulfil its potential.

On the decrease of entropy in a thermodynamic system by the intervention of intelligent beings.

Abstract: In memory of Leo Szilard, who passed away on May 30,1964, we present an English translation of his classical paper ober die Enfropieuerminderung in einem thermodynamischen System bei Eingrifen intelligenter Wesen, which appeared in the Zeitschrift fur Physik, 1929,53,840-856. The publication in this journal of this translation was approved by Dr. Szilard before he died, but he never saw the copy. At Mrs. Szilard's request, Dr. Carl Eckart revised the translation. This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest paper, in which the relations of physical entropy to information (in the sense of modem mathematical theory of communication) were rigorously demonstrated and in which Maxwell's famous demon was successfully exorcised: a milestone in the integration of physical and cognitive concepts.

Statistical analysis strategies for association studies involving rare variants

Abstract: The limitations of genome-wide association (GWA) studies that focus on the phenotypic influence of common genetic variants have motivated human geneticists to consider the contribution of rare variants to phenotypic expression. The increasing availability of high-throughput sequencing technologies has enabled studies of rare variants but these methods will not be sufficient for their success as appropriate analytical methods are also needed. We consider data analysis approaches to testing associations between a phenotype and collections of rare variants in a defined genomic region or set of regions. Ultimately, although a wide variety of analytical approaches exist, more work is needed to refine them and determine their properties and power in different contexts.