In the News

Below is a list of recent media impressions from research supported by the UMN Genomics Center.

2024


Automated machine learning robot unlocks new potential for genetics research  
CSE News Release, April 24, 2024

2023


New research from the U of M sheds light on the decline of Minnesota's moose population  
UMN News Release, August 21, 2023

Linking Gut Microbiome to Health Conditions  
Newswise, June 15, 2023

Common drug reduces long COVID, University of Minnesota study shows - Protection from metformin is even stronger among unvaccinated, women and younger adults, analysis shows.   
Star Tribune, June 8, 2023

How U of M Researchers Became National Leaders in Wastewater Analysis  
Mpls St. Paul Magazine, April 2, 2023

2022


CDC announces $90M funding to support Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence (PGCoE) network  
CDC Newsroom, September 20, 2022

New Sequencing Method Tackles Environmental DNA Contamination for Cell-Free DNA Samples  
GenomeWeb, August 24, 2022

How wastewater works to detect COVID, other viruses in Minnesota  
Star Tribune, July 16, 2022

Here’s how a St. Paul wastewater research lab tracks large-scale COVID trends at low cost  
KSTP 5, June 1, 2022

COVID levels leap in Twin Cities wastewater; hospitalizations edge higher  
MPR News, May 20, 2022

Months After Infection, Some Patients Continue Shedding COVID-19 in Their Feces  
Verywell Health, April 27, 2022

HealthPartners seeks 100,000 volunteers for DNA database. Free ancestral analysis comes with it  
Pioneer Press, March 20, 2022

New omicron COVID subvariant BA.2 detected in Twin Cities area wastewater - Health officials are monitoring the new form of the coronavirus, but it is too early to predict whether it will spark a new surge.  
Star Tribune, February 23, 2022

Why would world leaders balk at giving Putin DNA? - If knowledge is power, knowing the intimate secrets of one’s DNA could be the ultimate weapon.  
ABC News, February 18, 2022

Wastewater reports predict decline in Omicron in Twin Cities area - The University of Minnesota Genomics Center and the Metro wastewater treatment plant in St. Paul collaborated to provide this public health data.  
Minnesota Daily, February 9, 2022

University of Minnesota study tests wildlife for SARS-CoV-2 virus - As part of a pilot surveillance, nearly 600 of Minnesota’s wild animals were tested for SARS-CoV-2.  
UMN Research Brief, January 26, 2022

Omicron finally declining in the Twin Cities? The sewage says so - After weeks tracking a sharp rise of COVID in our wastewater, the Met Council has some encouraging news about a potential peak.  
Kare11 News, January 19, 2022

Twin Cities wastewater data suggests omicron peak may be past  
MPR News, January 18, 2022

Poop surfaces as crucial tool to track Twin Cities COVID  
MPR News, January 14, 2022

At-home testing limits Minnesota COVID-19 surveillance - Growth in over-the-counter tests for coronavirus infections has reduced reporting of positive cases amid omicron wave.   
Star Tribune, January 5, 2022

2021


Tracking the spread of omicron COVID-19 variant in Twin Cities sewage - Minnesota research scientists say they are seeing increased levels of the omicron variant in wastewater samples from the Twin Cities metro area.  
KMSP Fox 9, December 22, 2021

Arkansas Department of Health tracking covid-19 variants - A limited number of positive covid-19 tests are genetically sequenced.  
Arkansas Gazette, December 12, 2021

Minnesota at forefront of COVID-19 variant surveillance - Public and private health labs sequence more COVID-19 samples in Minnesota than almost any other state.   
Star Tribune, December 4, 2021

US tracking of virus variants has improved after slow start - After a slow start, the United States has improved its surveillance system for tracking new coronavirus variants such as omicron.  
Associated Press, November 30, 2021

Scientists study the genetics of invasive mussels seeking ways to turn off the genes that allow them to spread and survive  
Chicago Tribune, July 31, 2021

More Variants Are Coming, and the U.S. Isn’t Ready to Track Them - The people hunting for mutations want the country to fix its virus sequencing mess.  
Bloomberg, July 20, 2021

University receives funding to conduct COVID-19 genome sequencing - In an effort to help the future outlook of the pandemic, researchers will complete study the genome sequence of 6,000 test samples.  
Minnesota Daily, June 3, 2021

U of M receives CDC funding to sequence 6,000 COVID samples  
UMN News Release, June 2, 2021

Surveillance increased for coronavirus variant threats to Minnesota's pandemic progress - Health officials encourage vaccination in underperforming parts of the state where the virus could spawn variants.   
Star Tribune, June 2, 2021

Testing will remain important even as Minnesotans get vaccinated - Finding asymptomatic carriers reduces spread.   
Star Tribune, February 28, 2021

Scientists look to Twin Cities sewers to find COVID variants - The hunt for new strains locally is piggybacking on long-running COVID wastewater surveillance.   
Star Tribune, February 15, 2021

2020


New COVID-19 Test, Developed by U Researchers, Increases Daily Testing Volume - It took University of Minnesota researchers only a couple more weeks—after establishing the state’s fastest on-site COVID-19 testing facility—to refine and expand the laboratory-developed procedure (LDP) that tests for COVID-19.  
UMN Medical School, April 14, 2020