Biomedicine & Disease
Der Spiegel profiles leading stem cell scientist Robert Lanza
The following is an excerpt. Ethical worries have slowed medical research into applications for stem cells. But scientists like Robert ...
Editorial: Stem cell agency finally addresses potential for conflicts
The following is an excerpt. Politics is the art of the possible. Jonathan Thomas, who chairs the oversight committee for California's stem ...
Food labels don’t tell what’s in the genes
The following is an excerpt. Josephine Burriesci already reads food labels and tries to avoid ingredients she can’t pronounce. But ...
Are we on the cusp of a bio-industrial revolution?
Imagine a biosynthetic hardware store, where researchers can cherry-pick exactly the correct parts to build whatever they’d like. Just as ...
Golden rice and the necessity of genetically engineered crops
The following is an excerpt. Fourteen years ago, scientists developed a genetically engineered version of rice that would promote the ...
A developing world strategy for personalized medicine
The following is an excerpt. Because of its technology intensive platform, personalized medicine is seen as solely benefiting the populations ...
Sleep, the other gene therapy
The following is an excerpt. We've mentioned before that lack of sleep increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, ...
Brain-building gene plays key role in gut repair
The following is an excerpt. A gene with a colorful name – mindbomb 1 – plays a key role far ...
How to genetically engineer humans, safely
In a post for Project Syndicate, biomedical ethics professor Maxwell Mehlman outlines the challenges of safely genetically engineering humans. Among ...
Ugandan farmer’s diary: The biotech debate and our challenges
The following is an excerpt. The legalisation of biotechnology is not to outlaw organic farming, which is to sustain soil ...
Sequestration hits front-line genetics research
The following is an edited excerpt. Of all the blinkered buzz-saw cuts in this year’s $85 billion spending sequestration, perhaps ...
What the new ACMG guidelines really mean
Do patients have a right to not know what's written in their genes? The DNA Exchange explains doctors' new genetic ...
Should human genes be patented?
As the cost of genome sequencing plummets, we move closer to an era of personalized medicine, in which an individual’s ...
Gene therapy for sensory disorders
The following is an excerpt. Sensory disorders can have a profound effect on health and quality of life—but gene therapy ...
Who decides what patients need to know?
The following is an excerpt. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) released a report on "incidental findings" in genetic ...
Unproven stem-cell treatment given green light
The following is an edited excerpt. A combination of patient-derived stem cells, which have no publication record of efficacy, can ...
Genetic information: No choice for you
The following is an edited excerpt. The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) has recently published recommendations for reporting incidental findings (IFs) in clinical ...
Genetic markers: Dilemmas of discovering destiny
IT IS being hailed as one of the biggest ever breakthroughs in the treatment of two diseases which claim tens ...
Synthetic biology device called first of its kind
For the first time, synthetic biologists have created a genetic device that mimics one of the widgets on which all ...
Your DNA in death: Reflections on the Henrietta Lacks bioethics controversy
We are in the early stages a personalized medicine revolution, but progress comes with growing pains -- in this case, ...
Tumor DNA studies help explain cancer genetics
The following is an excerpt. As it has become more efficient and less expensive to analyze the DNA in normal ...
Italy: Stem-cell cocktail given green light
The following is an excerpt. A combination of patient-derived stem cells, which have no publication record of efficacy, can now ...
Personal genomics: No choice for you
The following is an excerpt. The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) has recently published recommendations for reporting incidental findings (IFs) in clinical exome ...
Interactive video: Synthetic viruses
BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh explains how British scientists have used a new technique to develop a synthetic virus which ...
Synchrotron yields ‘safer’ vaccine
The following is an edited excerpt. Producing vaccines against viral threats is a potentially hazardous business and that's why manufacturers ...
Genetic screening for cancer ‘within five years’
The following is an excerpt. A major research drive involving more than 1,000 experts has revealed more than 80 genes ...
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 ...
