Sequencing effort in Africa fine-tunes data collection

DNA sequencing is a fundamental technique that is routinely used in the biological sciences. This method can be applied to a range of questions at different scales - from the sequencing of a cloned DNA fragment or the study of a mutation in a gene up to whole-genome sequencing. However, despite the widespread use of sequencing today, it was not until 1977 that Fredrick Sanger and his collaborators developed the chain-termination method to decode DNA sequences. It relies on the separation of a...

The first human genome sequencing project cost $2.7 billion and was declared complete in 2003, after 15 years of international cooperation and collaboration between several research teams and funding agencies. Today, with the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies, the cost and time of sequencing a human genome have dropped over 100 fold.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.

RNA sequencing, or RNA-Seq, is a high-throughput sequencing technology used to study the transcriptome of a cell. Transcriptomics helps to interpret the functional elements of a genome and identify the molecular constituents of an organism. Additionally, it also helps in understanding the development of an organism and the occurrence of diseases. 
Before the discovery of RNA-seq, microarray-based methods and Sanger sequencing were used for transcriptome analysis. However, while microarray-based...

Data collection gathers information needed to make accurate judgments about a patient's present condition. During a health history interview, subjective data is collected from the patient, their caregivers, or family members, and objective data is collected through observations and physical assessment. Patients are the primary source of subjective data. Thus information gathered from patients through interviews, observations, and physical examination is primary data. Secondary sources of data...

The nursing history captures and records the patient's health status, so that a care plan evolves to meet the patient's individual needs. The nursing health history is a part of the initial assessment. A comprehensive history covers all health dimensions and plays a significant role in the assessment process. A comprehensive history includes the patient's biographical information, reasons for seeking health care, expectations, present and past health history, medications, and family,...