Biomedicine & Disease
DNA identification can be too expensive for governments that need it
When the remains of victims of political conflict or natural disasters are so badly damaged that they cannot be identified ...
The Salmon Dialogue: What’s the future of sustainable, genetically engineered foods?
Elliot Entis, founder of AquaBounty, and Paul Greenberg, author of the best selling Four Fish: The Future of the Last ...
Med students should study own DNA
Studying one’s own DNA should be part of medical school, according to one of San Diego’s most forward-looking physicians. In ...
Zebrafish may help identify functions of human genes
Sharing 70% of its genetic code with humans and reproducing at great rates, the diminutive zebrafish has become one of ...
Gene tied to Down syndrome may suggest way to new therapy
Scientists have identified a gene on the extra chromosome causing Down syndrome that may be responsible for the early aging ...
Y-chromosome mutations reveal uncertainty of male development
The idea that men and women are fundamentally different from each other is widely accepted. And throughout the world, this ...
FDA to hold public meeting about a form of human germline modification
On October 22-23, an advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a public meeting on "oocyte ...
Does the UK’s royal baby deserve genetic privacy?
The prospect of learning about one’s risk of dire disease in the morning headlines does seem unsavory, but at the ...
Changing the paradigm of hostility towards GM food
A "Nature" Editorial explores reasons why so many consumers still remain wary of GM food, more than a decade after ...
Rewriting your genetic blueprint
Do we make genes our scapegoats? How often have you heard someone say, “I’ll probably get (fill in the blank ...
India should create the proposed biotechnology regulatory agency
India should appreciate the importance of genetically improved varieties of crops. The nation’s farmers have been among the greatest beneficiaries ...
Regenerative medicine milestone: Stem cells generated in live mice
An important step toward developing regenerative therapies: Researchers successfully reprogrammed adult mouse cells, in a live mouse, to behave like ...
Parents push for standardized screening of Jewish genetic diseases
Carrier screening programs for Jewish genetic diseases have seen success in the past, she says; in the 1970s and '80s, ...
Clinics ethically free to dispose of thousands of embryos frozen in time, doctors’ group says
It is the most emotionally charged issue in assisted baby-making: how to “dispose” of the thousands of human embryos that ...
Human genome sequencing: the real ethical dilemma
If a genome does not always predict, it can identify, raising questions around privacy and access. Should medical DNA records ...
Epigenetics sheds new light on altruism
Recent research in neuroscience and epigenetics is revealing more and more about the fundamental social nature of humans ...
Has an Israeli research team found the key to curing cancer in humans?
The Israeli blind mole rat's incredible resistance to cancer may make it the perfect organism to advance cancer research, as ...
Are engineered foods evil?—A reply to Scientific American’s David H. Freedman
A former Research Director of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research in France takes Scientific American to task for ...
The epigenetics of body clocks and metabolism: why when you eat matters
Few environmental factors are as reliable as the 24-hour day, and an evolutionary argument can be made for why the ...
The right to genetic ignorance
The intention behind routine genome sequencing is good, but could it obliterate the right to remain ignorant of potentially untreatable ...
Evolution as opportunist
Evolution is littered with examples of opportunism. Hosts infected by viruses found new uses for the genetic material the agents ...
Your genomic future: Personalised medicine is here
FOR the Yuska family, the future of medicine is here. Thanks to genome sequencing, parents Danielle and Erik have a ...
Promiscuous birds produce genetically stronger offspring, study shows
New research shows that when female birds mate with multiple partners, they produce genetically stronger offspring. Published Sep. 3 in the ...
The genetics of going under general anesthesia
Falling asleep in your bed at night and being “put to sleep” under general anesthesia – as well as waking ...
The Brits aim to genetically engineer their own beans
Essentially little more than navy beans covered in a tomato-based sauce, baked beans are one of the more popular foods ...
Life insurance and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
GINA doesn't apply to life, disability, or long-term care insurance. But genetic information could radically change the insurance landscape ...
New technique for simultaneous gene visualization and epigenetic analysis
Techniques exist to visualize specific gene loci within tissue sections. And separate test-tube experiments exist to determine those genes’ epigenetic ...
