science

Rosetta Genomics

Rosetta Genomics is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rosetta Genomics rather than just read about it. In short: Rosetta Genomics Ltd. was a molecular diagnostics company with offices in Israel and the United States that uses micro-ribonucleic acid (microRNA) biomarkers to develop diagnostic tests designed to differentiate between various types of cancer. The company expects the first three tests based on its technology to be submitted for regulatory approval in 2008.

Key takeaways

Rosetta Genomics belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rosetta Genomics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rosetta Genomics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rosetta Genomics Ltd. was a molecular diagnostics company with offices in Israel and the United States that uses micro-ribonucleic acid (microRNA) biomarkers to develop diagnostic tests designed to differentiate between various types of cancer. The company expects the first three tests based on its technology to be submitted for regulatory approval in 2008. The diagnostic tests will differentiate between squamous and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); differentiate between adenocarcinoma and peritoneal mesothelioma; and seek to identify the origin of tumors in patients representing cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Using a single microRNA, the highly sensitive, highly specific test for squamous and non-squamous lung cancer has passed the prevalidation phase and has been submitted for approval to the New York State Department of Health Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program in April 2008. In April 2008, Nature Biotechnology published a study by Rosetta Genomics’ scientists whose findings demonstrate microRNAs' significant potential to act as effective biomarkers that may be applied in a diagnostic test designed to identify the primary tumor site in patients CUP. In addition to its diagnostic programs, Rosetta Genomics is collaborating with Isis Pharmaceuticals to develop a microRNA-based therapy for Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a form of liver cancer.

Intellectual property Rosetta Genomics has developed a microRNA discovery process.

Platform technologies Rosetta Genomics has developed several proprietary technologies that enable the company to work with microRNAs. At the basis of these technologies are proprietary microRNA extraction protocols that include sensitive extraction of microRNAs from most body fluids, including serum, urine, saliva, with virtually no microRNA lost in the extraction process. The company has also developed a microRNA extraction protocol from Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded, or FFPE, samples. This allows extraction of microRNAs from samples preserved at room temperature. Once microRNAs are extracted, Rosetta Genomics’ technology is capable of detecting and quantifying the microRNAs using two custom designed platform technologies which utilize Quantitative Real Time PCR (or qRT-PCR) and microarrays. The company's proprietary microarray platform covers approximately 850 human microRNAs, including approximately 180 microRNAs which are Rosetta Genomics’ proprietary microRNAs. The array's high specificity allows discriminating homologous family members.

Licenses and collaborations In January 2008, Rosetta Genomics announced a collaboration agreement with the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan to develop microRNA-based diagnostics and prognostics for brain cancer. Also in January 2008, Rosetta Genomics announced that its subsidiary, Rosetta Genomics Inc. has received a license to use Roche Molecular Systems' PCR technology in microRNA-based diagnostic tests. In September 2007, Rosetta Genomics said it will work with New York University Medical Center to develop a microRNA-based diagnostic test for melanoma. In May 2007, Rosetta Genomics announced Columbia University Medical Center would utilize its Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified laboratory to perform the clinical validation of Rosetta Genomics’ diagnostics program for cancer of unknown primary. In February 2006, Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Rosetta Genomics said they will collaborate to develop antisense drugs that inhibit microRNA in the liver to treat cancers there. Antisense drugs are a class of compounds that interfere with genetic material that gets translated into harmful proteins.

History Rosetta Genomics was founded by Isaac Bentwich in 2000 to pursue commercial applications of microRNA research. The company had its IPO on March 6, 2007, and is traded on the NASDAQ. Rosetta Genomics expects the funds raised to advance its microRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic cancer products through initial clinical validation, defined as success in identifying the specific biomarker panels via blinded tests of samples supplied by medical institutions. In 2016, the company was ranked #27 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list. In 2017, the company was sold for $10 million to private US company Genoptix. On 31 May 2018, it was announced that Rosetta Genomics filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

References

External links Company website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rosetta Genomics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rosetta Genomics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rosetta Genomics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rosetta Genomics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rosetta Genomics

In research: Rosetta Genomics appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rosetta Genomics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rosetta Genomics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biotechnology companies disestablished in 2018, Biotechnology companies established in 2000, Biotechnology companies of Israel, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rosetta Genomics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rosetta Genomics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rosetta Genomics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rosetta Genomics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rosetta Genomics in simple terms?

Why does Rosetta Genomics matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rosetta Genomics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rosetta Genomics.