Dogs could be more similar to humans than we thought.

Dogs could be more similar to humans than we thought.Dog and human gut microbiomes have more similar genes and responses to diet than we previously thought, according to a new study. Dog and human gut microbiomes have more similar genes and responses to diet than we previously thought, according to a study published in the open access journal, Microbiome. Dr Luis Pedro Coelho and colleagues from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, in collaboration with Nestlé Research, evaluated the gut microbiome of two dog breeds and found that the gene content of the dogs microbiome showed many similarities to the human gut microbiome, and was more similar to humans than the microbiome of pigs or mice.

SOPHIA GENETICS SEQUENCING AND CANCER DIAGNOSIS.

Sophia Genetics detects cancer in the lungs, skin, ovaries and breast, as well as congenital diseases, by sequencing the genomes of patient's tissue samples – then uses machine learning to compare the results and suggest the most effective treatments. Jurgi Camblong,co founder of Sophia genetics is diagnosing cancer using thousands of people's DNA. Hospitals pay each time they use the tool. In its first 18 months, the company was involved in the diagnosis of 25,000 patients. "The problem is not producing the content or the data but really analyzing to find the important information so you can act on a disease," says Camblong. Sophia Genetics's machine learning system, created in 2011, is used in more than 100 hospitals across 20 European countries, including Oxford University's John Radcliffe Hospital and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust. In 2016, it aims to make 80,000 diagnoses. Once the startup, which has raised more 
than £20 million from investors including Mike Lynch, receives patient data from a hospital, it can find genes related to diseases, such as BRCA-1 in breast cancer, within two hours. Genetic sequencing and treatment is being tackled by some of the world's biggest organisations,,such as Google and Amazon both help scientists analyse genetic data, and the NHS is sequencing 100,000 genomes from 70,000 people. Camblong says 60-person Sophia Genetics' advantage is that it can compare patient data across hospitals. "Algorithms recognize the context in which this raw data has been produced, eliminate biases, and make the results comparable," he says. The company is monitoring the success of each treatment. "In two years time we could tell you that your cancer looks like the cancer of 1,000 other patients, 500 received that drug and 80 per cent survived," says Camblong. It's not the cure - but it's a better diagnosis. read more; wired.co.uk