Remember, remember the fifth of Movember

Remember, remember the fifth of Movember

November is known for many things, Guy Fawkes, the coming of winter, the start of Christmas music in the malls, and of course Movember. That's right, the month where men everywhere put aside their aversion to hipsters and don that lip warmer in support of raising awareness (and money!) for mens health issues. So it's time to embrace your inner Tom Selleck and step up to the plate for this worthy cause. Don't worry, you don't have to wear skinny jeans or listen to bands that nobody has heard of, supporting awareness of mens cancers is as simple as not shaving. Well, not shaving your upper lip at least.

Movember was started in 2004 by a group in Australia. Since then it has expanded to the Movember Foundation, a worldwide charity organization which has raised over $174 million to date in support of raising awareness for mens health issues including prostate cancer. Since it's conceptualization the network of Mo-Bros has expanded world wide with 1.1 million people signing up to raise mo' money in 2012.

The issue at the heart of all the furry fun? Prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the sixth most common cancer in mo' bros world wide and the second most prevalent in the USA. The factors for risk are many including diet and genetics. Men that have a first degree relative with prostate cancer are at double the risk of developing the disease than men without. Although no one single genetic cause has been identified for prostate cancer, it has been linked to some single nucleotide polyMO'rphisms (changes in the DNA), including mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes involved in breast cancer. Increasingly specific risk groups can be uncovered through genetic screening using next generation sequencing technologies.

So how does it work? DNA samples can be taken to be tested through a cheek swab or blood test. The DNA is extracted from the sample and prepared into a library for sequencing. This can be done completely by robots like this one. The DNA is copied by the same proteins that synthesize your DNA and read out by scientists using different colors for each letter of your DNA and a highly sensitive camera to detect the signal.

All in all, the goal of Movember is to raise awareness for mens health issues, particularly for prostate cancer. So prep your upper lip for a furry accessory and give a high five to your fellow mo-bros when you see an awesome soup strainer on the street. Make sure to invite your friends, mo' stache helps raise mo' awareness; even Mario had Luigi.

Find out more about Movember: www.movember.com
Learn more about NGS library prep: http://www.aurorabiomed.com/next-generation-sequencing.htm
Learn more about Aurora Biomed: www.aurorabiomed.com