The idea of having your personal genetic code unravelled was once a dream reserved for individuals who were fans of science or big on ego — and deep in pocket.

But a new technique, described in the Thursday issue of the British journal Nature, has slashed the cost and time of genome sequencing, in an important step towards tailor-made medicine. (AFP)

A proposal to reverse part of a 2006 constitutional amendment allowing embryonic stem cell research appears in jeopardy of not making Missouri’s ballot.

The group Cures Without Cloning has not yet begun gathering petition signatures for its amendment. That’s because it is waiting for an appeals court ruling on a challenge to the ballot language. (KMBC.com)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Kentucky’s method of execution by lethal injection, rejecting the claim that officials there administered a common sequence of three drugs in a manner that posed an unconstitutional risk that a condemned inmate would suffer acute yet undetectable pain. (New York Times)

As nanotechnology has moved out of the laboratory and into commercial products, many have begun to question the impact of nanoscale materials on health and the environment. Learning more about such impacts, however, presents a daunting task, given the number of potential products, the pace of innovation, and the need to share information and leverage costs toward a more efficient, timely international research effort. A major challenge has been to produce a global research strategy for predicting the interactions between engineered nanoparticles and biological systems so that biocompatible nanomaterials can be developed and applied safely. (Nanowerk)

University Prof. Ian Wilmut would like to undertake joint research on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells with Kyoto University Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, the creator of the cells, Wilmut said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday. (The Daily Yomiuri)

California’s stem cell agency overstated and hyped the importance of its funding in enabling clinical trials for a drug to treat a severe blood disorder, Consumer Watchdog said today, seriously undercutting the agency’s credibility and alienating those who support publicly funded stem cell research. (PRNewswire)