Here's the actual (ahem) PowerPoint in PDF: https://prevention.cancer.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/major_program/Cancer-Screening-Research-Network-MCED-2022

Here's the actual (ahem) PowerPoint in PDF: https://prevention.cancer.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/major_program/Cancer-Screening-Research-Network-MCED-20220615.pdf https://prevention.cancer.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/ma... Interestingly, I've never heard of cfDNA fragmentomics: https://www.aacc.org/science-and-research/clinical-chemistry/clinical-chemistry-podcasts/2020/cell-free-dna-fragmentomics-the-new-omics-on-the-block https://www.aacc.org/science-and-research/clinical-chemistry... >> Well, initially, the main motivation for studying a cell-free DNA analysis is to look for species of DNA that might have been released from various organs that might be useful for doing diagnostics on them. So, for example, we have analyzed DNA that came from the placenta for prenatal diagnosis. We’ve analyzed DNA release from tumors for cancer assessment, but we need to somehow distinguish these molecules of interest with the molecules that are just floating around in the background that might not be from a diseased organ or the organ of interest. So previously, when the field first started, we tried to use genetic differences. For example, for tumor, we might be looking for mutations that were present in the tumor genome and use those features to distinguish the tumor DNA from the non-tumor DNA. But then, as time went on, we realized that those DNA of interest, they typically are shorter. For example, the DNA from placenta or tumor cells, they are shorter than the background DNA that we are not as much interested in. Then, when we looked into why these DNA molecules are shorter, then we found out that the fragmentation process is actually non-random. From this point onwards, people started as, why is it not random and how does the cell control which part of genome becomes fragmented and how can we make use of these fragmented features? And very soon, I mean, it became a field and the studies—the number of studies just exploded.