An international effort towards developing standards for best practices in analysis, interpretation and reporting of clinical genome sequencing results in the CLARITY Challenge

There is tremendous potential for genome sequencing to improve clinical diagnosis and care once it becomes routinely accessible, but this will require formalizing research methods into clinical best practices in the areas of sequence data generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. The CLARITY Challenge was designed to spur convergence in methods for diagnosing genetic disease starting from clinical case history and genome sequencing data. DNA samples were obtained from three families with heritable genetic disorders and genomic sequence data were donated by sequencing platform vendors. The challenge was to analyze and interpret these data with the goals of identifying disease-causing variants and reporting the findings in a clinically useful format. Participating contestant groups were solicited broadly, and an independent panel of judges evaluated their performance. RESULTS: A total of 30 international groups were engaged. The entries reveal a general convergence of practices on most elements of the analysis and interpretation process. However, even given this commonality of approach, only two groups identified the consensus candidate variants in all disease cases, demonstrating a need for consistent fine-tuning of the generally accepted methods. There was greater diversity of the final clinical report content and in the patient consenting process, demonstrating that these areas require additional exploration and standardization. CONCLUSIONS: The CLARITY Challenge provides a comprehensive assessment of current practices for using genome sequencing to diagnose and report genetic diseases. There is remarkable convergence in bioinformatic techniques, but medical interpretation and reporting are areas that require further development by many groups

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 15, Nos. 2/3, Spring/Summer 2012

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "What a Spring!"; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenson; "Volume VI"; "New DARE Website"; "In Memoriam: Robert Easton

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 4, Fall 2006

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "The Mythical Hedgehogs of North Carolina: A Note on Lexicographical Method" by Jeffrey Hirshberg; "In Memoriam: Karen Krause"; "Coming in Volume V"; "Students Assist DARE Research"; "DARE in Podcasts"; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenson; "Staff Member Profile: Janet Monk"; "DARE Staff Photos

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 4, Fall 2007

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: “On the Road in South Carolina” by Ray O’Cain; “DARE Celebrates Fred Cassidy’s Centennial”; “In Memoriam: Audrey R. Duckert”; “Staff Member Profile: Julie Schnebly”; “Funding Update” by Jon E. Sorenso

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 4, Fall 2012

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "Words of America: A Field Guide (Part 1)" by Michael Adams; "Volume VI Preview"; "Staff Member Profile: Trini Stickle"; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenso

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 11, No. 4, Fall 2008

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "Using DARE in the Systematic Study of Regional Variation" by Ed Finegan; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenson; "Coming in Volume V"; "Staff Member Profile: Nathan Carlson"; "Where Are They Now?: Erin Meyer"; "DARE Editor Attends Methods XIII Conference

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 1, Winter 2013

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "Words of America: A Field Guide (Part 2)" by Michael Adams; "Beta Testers Needed for 'DARE Digital' "; "DARE Editors Celebrate with HUP Colleague"; "DARE Editor Addresses Dialect Society"; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenson; "Longtime DARE Staffers Retire"; "Volume VI DARE Quiz"; "Contributors to DARE in 2012

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 11, Nos. 2/3, Spring/Summer 2008

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "Satisfied Customers Have Their Say" by Joan Houston Hall; "Coming in Volume V"; "DARE Editors Part of Wisconsin Englishes Project"; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenson; "DARE Editor Attends Conference"; "Volunteer Profile: Alyssa Severn"; "DARE Staff Changes

DARE Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 4, Fall 2011

Quarterly newsletter of the Dictionary of American Regional EnglishContents: "DARE: The View from the Letter Z (Part 2)" by Joan Houston Hall; "Funding Update" by Jon E. Sorenson; "The DARE Bibliography: A Preview"; "Staff Member Profile: Esther Hong"; "DARE in Humanities"; "Volume V DARE Quiz"; "Volume V of DARE Available for Pre-Order