Golden Helix Blog

From the Inbox: Leveraging the Transparency and Flexibility of VSClinical for ACMG Guidelines

Mar 19, 2024

When a variant shows up as rare in the general “healthy” population, as indicated by low frequency or absence in one or more commonly referenced population catalogs such as GnomAD Exomes or 1000 Genomes, this indicates by proxy that the variant may be pathogenic. However, several factors determine the frequency…

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Webcast Recap and Q & A: Introducing VSPGx: Pharmacogenomics Testing in VarSeq

Mar 14, 2024

Thanks to all of you who were able to attend the live webcast introducing the newest genomic analysis tool within VarSeq, VSPGx! For those of you who could not make it to the live presentation and demonstration, I will fill you in on what we covered. If you would like…

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CIO Bulletin – Innovation Excellence Awards

Mar 12, 2024

Leading the Genomic Revolution with VarSeq Suite, Revolutionizing Precision Medicine, and Envisioning a Path for Healthier Tomorrow: Golden Helix Inc We recently were awarded by CIO Bulletin 2024, a winner of their Innovation Excellence Awards. Due to our groundbreaking contributions to the field of precision medicine, this recognition is greatly…

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Five Ways to Optimize Workflows with VarSeq

Mar 7, 2024

There are many ways to optimize an individual workflow, from increasing the granularity of a filter chain to automating certain multi-stepped tasks. Although the best way to optimize an individual workflow is to book a session with our FAS team to talk about your unique use case, we wanted to…

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eBook Release: Pharmacogenetics

Feb 27, 2024

Welcome to our engaging journey through the fascinating world of pharmacogenetics! In this friendly guide, we’re going to explore how our unique genetic makeup influences the way we respond to medications. It’s all about making medicine more personalized and effective for everyone. This eBook, Pharmacogenetics takes you into the world…

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Golden Helix is Launching VSPGx

Feb 27, 2024

VSPGx is a pharmacogenomics interpretation software based on CPIC recommendations. The field of pharmacogenetics bridges genetics and pharmacology, with the aim of optimizing drug therapies for individual patients based on their unique genetic makeup. It has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by improving drug efficacy, reducing adverse reactions, and advancing…

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We Are Heading to Toronto!

Feb 27, 2024

Join Golden Helix at the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) 2024 conference and discover the latest advances in genetic research. This premier event brings together leading researchers, clinicians, and industry experts to share their insights on cutting-edge topics in medical genetics. Stop by our booth for a…

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Analyzing Performance of the Twist Exome with CNV Backbone at Various Probe Densities Leveraging Golden Helix VS-CNV Recap

Feb 22, 2024

In our recent webcast, we unveiled the integration of the Twist Bioscience Exome 2.0 Plus Comprehensive Exome Spike-in capture panel with VS-CNV, marking a significant advancement in genetic diagnostics. By addressing the limitations of standard exome kits that miss vast genomic regions, our enhanced panel introduces ‘backbone’ probes for comprehensive…

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Incorporating gnomAD V4 into the ACMG Auto-Classifier

Feb 14, 2024

We at Golden Helix are thrilled with our recent release of gnomAD v4! The curation of this massive database was a huge undertaking for our development team, but with the addition of new features, we believe it was well worth the wait. This annotation track contains allele frequencies from a…

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GnomAD v4 Released: Enhanced Data and Golden Helix Curation for VarSeq Users

Feb 7, 2024

The Broad Institute’s release of gnomAD v4 needs no introduction as the data in this release is highly sought after by professionals in the genetics community, and the v4 release has a lot to boast about! The v4 release is roughly five times larger than the v2 and v3 releases…

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Golden Helix Received ISO 13485:2016 Certification

Feb 6, 2024

This month, we are excited to announce that we have received the certification for ISO 13485:2016 from TÜV SÜD. ISO 13485:2016 is an international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS) for organizations involved in the design, development, production, and servicing of medical devices. It is specifically…

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Exploring the Genetic Frontier: Advances in Understanding Eye Disorders

Jan 30, 2024

Welcome to the exploration of groundbreaking genetic research in ophthalmology. Recent studies have unveiled fascinating insights into the complex interplay between genetics and eye disorders, offering hope and new directions for understanding and treating these conditions. From novel genetic variants linked to microphthalmia and glaucoma to the long-term implications of…

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Using Liftover to Curate GnomAD v4 for GRCh37

Jan 25, 2024

We are excited to announce the release of our gnomAD v4 annotation tracks for VarSeq. This version of the GnomAD database represents a significant leap forward, including data from an impressive cohort of over 800,000 individuals — a remarkable 5x expansion compared to the previous releases. Notably, this dataset is…

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Advanced Techniques for GenomeBrowse Customization

Jan 23, 2024

Today, we will be exploring the indispensable role of GenomeBrowse in your VarSeq workflows. This blog aims to guide you through various customization options, including color preferences, filtering techniques, display modifications, numeric value plotting, and additional tips. I hope to enhance your GenomeBrowse experience and enable you to gain valuable…

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Auto Computation of Coverage Files

Jan 18, 2024

The latest VarSeq release offers enhanced control over genome browse visualization computations. These computations, which are responsible for computing and caching coverage files that create the aggregate view of tracks within GenomeBrowse, are now more flexible. Typically, these tracks create files with the “.covtsf” extension and are used for zoomed-out…

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Webcast Recap: VarSeq, the Complete Tertiary Platform for Short and Long-Read NGS Data

Jan 18, 2024

Many thanks to those who came to view our most recent webcast, From Panels to Genomes with VarSeq: The Complete Tertiary Platform for Short and Long-Read NGS Data. This was a great opportunity for us to showcase the breadth of our workflows, from short-read to long-read, panels to genomes, singleton…

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Managing Gene Preferences and Preferred Transcripts in VarSeq

Jan 16, 2024

There are several contextual factors to consider when analyzing genomic data for NGS analyses. A variant may have divergent impacts depending on which transcript of the gene is being considered, or the impact of a variant could be weighed more or less heavily depending on the disease context. Evidently, the…

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The Log Tab in VarSeq

Jan 11, 2024

How long did it take to run coverage regions? Did my colleague update the filter chain like he said he would? Which import options did I use? Where did I save this project? These questions and more can be answered with our little-used VarSeq Log tab. Periodically, our customers come…

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What to Expect from Golden Helix in 2024

Jan 10, 2024

Happy New Year! I hope that you all were able to enjoy quality time with loved ones over the holidays. 2023 has come to a close, and we would like to take the time to thank you while looking back on a year full of accomplishments. In 2023, we celebrated…

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VarSeq Onboarding and Training Program Now Available!

Jan 4, 2024

Get your year started off right with Golden Helix’s new VarSeq Onboarding and Training Program! Analysis of NGS data comes with several challenges, but mastery of the data analysis software does not have to be one of them. With this in mind, Golden Helix is pleased to announce that VarSeq…

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