Bio-IT World | The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation goes into effect May 25, 2018. The regulation is significantly more expansive than the privacy directive it replaces and carries hefty financial penalties for non-compliance. But the biggest cause for concern may be its impact for non-European companies, who have no idea that the regulations apply to them.

Bio-IT World | A paper published yesterday in Cell sheds more light on two mechanisms of DNA folding within the nucleus, and how the folding impacts genome function.

Bio-IT World Brief | Illumina announced the availability of an innovative whole genome sequencing library prep product, Nextera DNA Flex, which eliminates the need for sample preparation for whole blood and saliva, and removes tedious steps in the library prep workflow, such as mechanical fragmentation of DNA, quantification, and normalization.

Retraction Watch | Nature has added an “editor’s note” to a high-profile paper detailing how a team of researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to correct a disease-causing mutation in viable human embryos, alerting readers to the fact that the article has been subject to criticism.

Bio-IT World Contributed Commentary | The move to collaborative research is one of the most fundamental changes occurring in life sciences discovery today. As biopharmaceutical companies engage more and more with each other, increased operational agility, reduced total cost of ownership, and improved global collaboration have become important keys to success.

Bio-IT World Brief | Synthego announces a new alignment with Thermo Fisher Scientific to manufacture and distribute world-class quality synthetic guide RNA products. Synthego’s synthetic guide RNA portfolio and synthetic guide RNA manufacturing capabilities will be utilized to produce synthetic guide RNAs under Thermo Fisher’s Invitrogen TrueGuide brand that will be marketed and sold across Thermo Fisher channels worldwide.

Bio-IT World Brief | HumanCode announced the launch of BABYGlimpse, the first DNA-powered app for couples to discover and explore the genetic-related traits their children may inherit.

Bio-IT World | Bio-IT World is accepting entries to the 2018 Bio-IT World Best Practices competition. For the past fifteen years, the Bio-IT World Best Practices Awards have highlighted outstanding examples of innovations and partnerships serving as powerful forces for change in the life sciences.