Medical Regs & Ethics
Tracking the spread of bacterial infections with whole genome sequencing
No matter what they tried, the staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham in England could not quell an outbreak of ...
Monsanto’s perceived or real evil a creation of capitalism, biotechnology a scapegoat
Monsanto, an American agro-biotech giant with several operational offices and products across the globe has been every Activist’s reference in ...
Buzz on how the housefly genome will help cure human disease
Insects that humans have always regarded as nothing but pests are being exploited for good purposes —as genomic sources of ...
Forget GMOs: Surgeon General has determined that DNA is dangerous to your health!
OMG! Deoxyribonucleic acid risks contaminating all of our food. Where is Gary Hirshberg when we REALLY need him! Just Label ...
Could FDA’s plan to regulate laboratory developed tests help end pseudo-testing?
The FDA regulates in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDs) as medical devices. IVDs analyze human samples, such as blood, saliva, tissue ...
Cancer, bad luck and some lessons in science reporting
The controversy surrounding a study that suggests cancer is mostly due to bad luck has some lessons for science reporting ...
Worried you have cancer? Take a Google pill!
Google X, Google’s research unit, is working on technology that combines disease-detecting nanoparticles, which would enter a patient's bloodstream via ...
Could genetically engineered chickens reverse the avian flu epidemic?
Genetically engineered chicken could be more effective than vaccines at preventing transmissions of avian flu—a disease that can be devastating ...
Why new guidelines for sharing clinical trial data are important
We're in the middle of a major flu epidemic, and the CDC has recommended treatment with an antiviral (e.g., Tamiflu ...
Breakthrough research: Bioengineered human muscle that contracts like real tissue
In what's being hailed as a medical first, researchers at Duke University announced this week that they had bioengineered human ...
Eleven genomic medicine centers to lead UK’s 100,000 genomes project
Eleven NHS Genomic Medicine Centres (GMCs) have been announced by Genomics England. They will spearhead the 100,000 Genomes Project, which ...
Telomere hype: How to debunk claims about telomeres and aging
A skeptic needs to do considerable homework in order to muster the evidence needed to counter the latest exaggerated, premature, ...
Conflicting views on GMOs: How do we know what to believe?
How do we know who or what to believe, seeing that GMO advocates and opponents make very contrasting claims and ...
Study reveals clues as to why the common cold virus is so effective
If there is a champion among contagions, it may well be the lowly rhinovirus, responsible for many of the coughs ...
Private umbilical cord cell banking: Good idea or scam?
You only have to Google search “cord blood” or similar phrases, or even just read an article about pregnancy and ...
How beneficial gut bacteria survive the host’s immune response
Mammalian hosts fight gut infections in part by releasing antimicrobial peptides that disrupt bacterial membranes. But it has been unclear ...
Corneal stem cell research rapidly translated to the clinic shows promise
In Hyderabad, India, Sayan Basu is using stem cells in a pilot project to restore the eyesight of patients with ...
Will doctors prescribe the first approved US copycat biological drug?
A group of FDA advisers unanimously recommended approval for Novartis' knockoff of a blockbuster Amgen treatment, clearing the way for what ...
Apple juice may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease
Emerging evidence suggests nutrition plays a more critical role in neurodegeneration than originally thought. As little as two glasses of ...
Are genetic databases and medical confidentiality compatible?
Personalized medicine, the hoped-for use of the information in our genes to inform our medical care, may end up helping ...
New bioengineering technique makes bacteria produce chemicals quicker and more efficiently
Genetically engineered bacteria already produce some products of commercial interest or biomedical importance, such as insulin. And coaxing the organisms to ...
Is obesity rooted in your genes? Not exactly
In what seems to be another piece of evidence in favor of genes being impacted in differential ways over time ...
3D map of human genome reveals ‘origami’ gene regulation
In a triumph for cell biology, researchers have assembled the first high-resolution, 3D maps of entire folded genomes and found ...
Potential obesity drug acts as a meal in a pill
A drug that works like an “imaginary meal” has been developed by US scientists who believe it could help combat ...
Will my child be born autistic if I eat GMOs? A scientist’s view
The Internet is aflame with claims linking autism to GMOs and the herbicide glyphosate, frightening many parents. Contributing columnist and ...
What are the implications of the ‘bad luck’ cancer study?
It’s not every day that a scientific paper forces us to re-examine long-held views on a topic of great importance ...
Does it make sense to sequence the genome of all new born babies?
This is coming, Genome Sequencing in Babies to Begin as Part of Study, with high risk cases first: "Stephen F ...
