Ion World 2013 Showcases Breakthrough Discoveries That Will Shape the Future of Health Care

CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) welcomes scientists and students to attend the 2^nd annual Ion World 2013 next-generation sequencing conference, Oct. 20–21, in Boston, MA preceding the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) conference. Scientists from around the world will present their latest basic and clinical research and discoveries in areas including cancer, inherited disease, microbial and infectious disease, and aneuploidy assessment in reproductive genetics research.

Ion World 2013 offers attendees more than 20 informative sessions, live demos showing how Ion Torrent™ sequencing is advancing genomic discoveries, and unparalleled networking opportunities. In addition, scientists dedicated to Ion Torrent R&D will give a preview of ongoing innovations across the workflow that set a new standard in simplicity and accuracy of next-generation sequencing technologies. Acclaimed cardiologist, geneticist, and author Dr. Eric Topol, Director of Scripps Translational Science Institute, will give the keynote address: The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care. View the agenda and register for Ion World here.

"Ion World demonstrates the incredible discoveries made possible with today's proven next generation sequencing solutions," said Maneesh Jain, vice president of marketing for Ion Torrent at Life Technologies. "Finally, powerful genetic information can be put to work by scientists from all fields to solve some of our most pressing challenges, including the pursuit of a world without cancer. Inspired by our customers' missions, we are committed to ongoing significant R&D investments to produce disruptive innovations that fuel scientific breakthroughs. We will share our progress in improving the areas that matter most to our customers - to make sequencing simpler, more accurate, and more actionable than ever before. Ion World 2013 promises to be an inspiring learning and networking event for all of us."

Cancer mutation detection: From a single gene to an entire exome 
Ion World 2013 will feature work performed with Ion AmpliSeq™ technology, an end-to-end solution for targeted DNA and RNA sequencing. Ion AmpliSeq™ gene panels enable researchers to go from sample to sequence in less than 24 hours and require just 10 ng of DNA or RNA input per primer pool, about 25-fold less than alternative gene panel approaches. Presenters include:

• Dr. William Strauss, Cynvenio Biosystems, describing his process of mutation detection in a groundbreaking method for isolating circulating tumors cells in blood
• Dr. Christian Thiede, Technical University of Dresden, describing how his group is detecting AML mutations  
• Dr. Milan Radovich, Indiana University School of Medicine, presenting data on exome and transcriptome sequencing in translational oncology research

Accessible exome-wide mutation detection in inherited diseases 
Scientists will present data from the new Ion AmpliSeq™ Exome Kit, which delivers 98 percent of bases covered at 10x, and up to 96 percent of bases covered at 20x, for a single exome, the best exome sequencing performance in the industry*. Presenters focused on exome sequencing include:

• Dr. Patrice Milos, Claritas Genomics, discussing large-scale variant detection in exomes for research and clinical research projects
• Dr. Richard Allcock, Royal Perth Hospital, discussing exome sequencing in clinical research
• Dr. Jeremy Stuart, Selah Genomics Inc., presenting on mutation detection in a single gene all the way to whole exome sequencing

Routine sequencing for infectious and microbial research 
Ion World 2013 features scientists using the Ion AmpliSeq™ panels for 16s research applications in microbiology and infectious disease applications. Presenters include:

• Dr. Joe Petrosino, Baylor College of Medicine, discussing his research using 16s to isolate the microbes that have been reported in successful fecal transplant studies concerning Closteridium difficile infection, a cause of severe inflammation of the colon
• Dr. Sandra Cardoso, Research Center for Infections Diseases, presenting her results that examine the effect of the gut micro biome on HIV-positive samples

The Ion AmpliSeq™ Exome Kit and Ion Proton™ Sequencer are For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

*For complete details on the performance of the Ion AmpliSeq™ Exome Kit and Ion Proton™ Sequencer, go to lifetechnologies.com/ionexome.

About Life Technologies 
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company that is committed to providing the most innovative products and services to leading customers in the fields of scientific research, genetic analysis and applied sciences. With a presence in more than 180 countries, the company's portfolio of 50,000 end-to-end solutions is secured by more than 5,000 patents and licenses that span the entire biological spectrum—scientific exploration, molecular diagnostics, 21^st century forensics, regenerative medicine and agricultural research. Life Technologies has approximately 10,000 employees and had sales of $3.8 billion in 2012.

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Life Technologies Contact:
Wes Conard
415-385-4455
[email protected] 

SOURCE Life Technologies Corporation