Giving Compass' Take:

• In this story from Fred Hutch News Service, Sabrina Richards tells of a new cancer research technology called high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing which can say which genes cells are  - or are not - using to function.

• This technology has the potential to change the way that we diagnose cancer. What are the next steps for researchers and how can the nonprofit sector best support them?

• To learn why tall people have a greater risk of getting cancer, click here.

When [Dr. Kelly] Paulson and [Dr. Aude] Chapuis were hunting down the key change in her remission patient’s cancer cells, they didn’t know what they were looking for or in which cell population they would find it. She needed to look at the inner workings of the individual cells involved, both tumor and nontumor, to understand what was happening. But standard approaches could only paint her a blurry picture.

[Paulson] and Chapuis teamed up [with other researchers] to apply a new technology called high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing. It gave them insight into the genes that individual cells were — or were not — using to function. She compared blood samples taken from the patient before and after treatment.

That’s the beauty of high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing technology, said [Dr. Jason] Bielas, who helped bring the new technology that Paulson used to the Hutch: “You can let the cells tell you the story,” he said.

Read the full article about RNA sequencing by Sabrina Richards at Fred Hutchinson News Service