Biomedicine & Disease
Supreme court may decide whether we own our genes
The following is an excerpt. They may be responsible for everything in your life, from conception to death, they may ...
Scientists published Henrietta Lacks’ genome without the consent of her family
The following is an excerpt. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor black mother of five living near Baltimore, died from ...
The genetic information you didn’t ask for
Geneticists are urging doctors who sequence a patient's genome to also test them for 24 genetic conditions, and to alert ...
Schizophrenia about genetics
The following is an edited excerpt. The genetics of schizophrenia is a fertile if fraught topic. But I won’t be discussing that ...
Henrietta Lacks and genetic privacy
The Lackses’ experiences over the last 60 years foretold nearly every major ethical issue raised by research on human tissues ...
Bioinformaticians share their own DNA in personal genomics textbook
The following is an edited excerpt. When bioinformaticians Joel Dudley and Konrad Karczewski set out to write a new text ...
Fears about GMOs among some Ugandans unfounded
The following is an excerpt. GMO is ... one of the options that should be adopted to quicken the process ...
Old mice, young blood: Reprogrammed stem cells rejuvinate blood
The following is an edited excerpt. The blood of young and old people differs. In an article published recently in ...
Doctors should tell patients about some — not all — unexpected genetic findings
The following is an excerpt. On Thursday [21 March 2013], the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommended that doctors tell ...
Gene therapy could treat cancer
The following is an excerpt. A clinical trial using a patient's own immune system to produce remissions in adults with ...
Mutations behind inflammatory disease were an adaptation
The following is an excerpt. Multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory diseases may result from mutated genes that were once positive ...
Pigmentation: the simplest of complex traits not so simple?
The following is an excerpt. One of the pitfalls about talking about genetics, especially human genetics, is that the public wants ...
Intense terahertz radiation causes DNA damage and repair
The following is an excerpt. Short yet powerful bursts of terahertz radiation can damage DNA and also increase the production ...
DNA damage occurs as part of normal brain activity
The following is an excerpt. Scientists have long known that DNA damage occurs in every cell, accumulating as we age ...
Can a genetically modified potato fight off blight?
The following is an edited excerpt. Ewen Mullins is the face of modern Ireland: Young, cosmopolitan, highly educated, he is ...
Disease-fighters disrupt mosquito’s genes with molecular scissors
The following is an edited excerpt. Scientists at Virginia Tech have disrupted the genes that control eye color in mosquitoes, ...
The genetics of emergent phenotypes
The following is an edited excerpt. There is now compelling evidence that disorders like epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism can be caused by ...
Lawmakers should slow down on GMO labeling, a drive based on fear
The following is an excerpt. It's hard not to sympathize with Oregon lawmakers caught up in the GMO scare. Genetically ...
Three parents? Five parents? All that really matters is healthy babies
The following is an edited excerpt. If you are the parent of a baby with an incurable mitochondrial disease, each ...
Center for Genetics and Society calls for rejection of life-saving therapy
The U.K.'s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has announced its endorsement of mitochondrial replacement therapy. The therapy, which could save ...
Human gene connectome mapped
The following is an excerpt. Scientists at Rockefeller University have created a map of gene “shortcuts” to simplify the hunt for disease-causing ...
New company will bring extinct species back from the dead
Two of biotechnology’s most prolific and far-sighted researchers say they’re teaming up to start a company that intends to rewrite ...
Atomic gardening: Breeding plants with gamma radiation
The following is an edited excerpt. Did you know that the peppermint flavor in your chewing gum and toothpaste, and ...
Gene therapy spurs leukemia hope
The following is an excerpt. Researchers reported fresh evidence Wednesday that using gene therapy to manipulate the immune system is ...
UK: Public OK with creating babies from 3 people
The following is an excerpt. LONDON — Britain's fertility regulator says it has found broad public support for in vitro ...
Stem cell research could expand clinical use of regenerative human cells
The following is an edited excerpt. New research has uncovered a method to produce retinal cells from regenerative human stem ...
Replacement “bioteeth” from stem cells a step closer
The following is an edited excerpt. New research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre ...