If attendees at the Minnesota State Fair aren’t too busy revelling in the performances of Kiss or “Weird Al” Yankovic, or enjoying a celebrity cow-milking contest, they might just try spitting for science. (Nature News)

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (Volume 19, Issue 4, October 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Should Empathic Development Be a Priority in Biomedical Ethics Teaching?  A Critical Perspective” by Bruce Maxwell and Eric Racine, 433-445.
• “Teaching Military Medical Ethics: Another Look at Dual Loyalty and Triage” by Michael L. Gross, 458-464.
• “The Unique Nature of Clinical Ethics in Allied Health Pediatrics: Implications for Ethics Education” by Clare Delany and Merle Spriggs and Craig L. Fry and Lynn Gillam, 471-480.
• “What Health Science Student Learn from Playing a Standardized Patient in an Ethics Course” by Amy Haddad, 481-487.
• “Medical Student Attitudes about Bioethics” by Cheryl C. MacPherson and Robert M. Veatch, 488-496.
• “Rual Heathcare Ethics: No Longer the Forgotten Quarter” by William Nelson and Mary Ann Greene and Alan West, 510-517.
• “The Humanities and the Future of Bioethics Education” by Joseph J. Fins, 518-521.

The 20th century broke open both the atom and the human genome. Physics deftly imposed mathematical order on the upwelling of particles. Now, in the 21st century, systems biology aims to fit equations to living matter, creating mathematical models that promise new insight into disease and cures. But, after a decade of effort and growth in computing power, models of cells and organs remain crude. Researchers are retreating from complexity towards simpler systems. And, perversely, ever-expanding data are making models more complicated instead of accurate. To an extent, systems biology, rather than climbing upwards to sparkling mathematical vistas, is stuck in a mire of its own deepening details. (Ars Technica)

The university has said that it will continue with the programme, which was intended to provoke discussion, but provide collective, pooled findings as opposed to individual results, in compliance with the regulatory edict. A university facility will be used to analyse the DNA samples. (PHG Foundation)

Back in June, the US Food and Drug Administration fired a warning shot across the bow of the nascent direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing industry. The FDA felt that some of the services were marketing their products as medical tests, and therefore had to provide evidence of their efficacy. Since then, both Congress and the Government Accountability Office have looked into the DTC market, raising the prospects for direct government intervention in the market. (Ars Technica)

4th National Conference on Genomics and Public Health
Using Genomic Information to Improve Health Now and in the Future
Bethesda, Maryland
December 8-10, 2010

The 4th National Conference on Genomics and Public Health: Using Genomic Information to Improve Health Now and in the Future is a three-day event that will highlight best practices in public health genomics today while preparing for the future.

The agenda will feature keynote presentations by leaders in the fields of genomics and public health, interactive plenary and break-out sessions, and scientific poster exhibits on genomics research and public health practice. Networking events are also planned for the evenings.

For more information

NEJM (Volume 363, Number 2, July 8, 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles Include:

• “The SGR for Physician Payment - An Indispensable Abomination” by H.J. Aaron.
• “Implementing Health Care Reform - Why Medicare Matters” by R.A. Berenson, 101-103.
• “The Independent Payment Advisory Board” by T.S. Jost, 103-105.
• “Identifying and Eliminating the Roadblocks to Comparative-Effectiveness Research” by D.F. Martin, M.G. Maguire, and S.L. Fine, 105-107.
• “Limbal Stem-Cell Therapy and Long-Term Corneal Regeneration” by P. Rama and Others, 147-155.
• “Genomic Medicine: Genomewide Association Studies and Assessment of the Risk of Disease” by T.A. Manollo, 166-176.
• “Toward More Uniform Conflict Disclosures - The Updated ICMJE Conflict of Interest Reporting Form” by J.M. Drazen and Others, 188-189.
• “Individual Genomes on the Horizon” by D. Watkins and C. Gallant, 195-196.

Two UC Berkeley professors Tuesday defended a controversial plan to perform genetic testing on incoming freshmen during a legislative hearing that also featured testimony from privacy experts and bioethicists blasting the plan. (Sacramento Bee)

By simply switching on three critical genes, researchers have coaxed mouse skin cells into becoming heart muscle cells — without their first reverting back to an embryonic, stem-cell-like state. (Nature News)

A controversial new rule by the National Collegiate Athletic Association went into effect this month, requiring all Division I athletes to be screened for a genetic sickle cell trait. (CNN)

Experts concerned about the availability of DIY genetic tests have launched guidelines for the industry. (BBC News)

The L.A.-based sperm bank offers an option to prospective parents of seeing which celebrity a donor looks like. That’s just silly. (Los Angeles Times)

NEJM (Volume 363, Number 4, July 22, 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles Include:

• “Efficacy of Gene Therapy for X-Linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency” by Salima Hacein-Bey-Albina and Others
• “Patient-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem-Cell Models for Long QT Syndrome” by A. Moretti and Others

An undercover investigation of some firms that sell genetic test kits to consumers found misleading test results and “egregious examples of deceptive marketing,” according to a report published today by the Government Accountability Office. (New York Times)

Six months since it launched, the world’s first factory for making professional-quality biological DNA ‘parts’ is beginning to stock its shelves. (Nature News)

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues convened last week for its first meeting. The commission—created by executive order with the “goal of identifying and promoting policies and practices that ensure scientific research, healthcare delivery, and technological innovation are conducted in an ethically responsible manner”—was tasked by President Barack Obama to study first the implications of synthetic biology. The president’s request came on the heels of J. Craig Venter’s announcement that his lab had successfully created a single-cell organism with a genome synthesized entirely from scratch. (Science Progress)

Authors such as Francis Fukuyama, the President’s Council on Bioethics, and George Annas have argued that biotechnological interventions that aim to promote genetic enhancement pose a threat to human nature. This paper clarifies what conclusions these critics seek to establish, and then shows that there is no plausible account of human nature that will meet the conditions necessary to support this position. Appeals to human nature cannot establish a prohibition against the pursuit of genetic enhancement. [Abstract (Journal of Medicine and Philosophy)]

Kalkwarf is one of many children of the 5.3 million people living with Alzheimer’s in the United States who face the terrifying possibility of inheriting a predisposition to the disease. Now that there are tests in the works for early detection of brain injury due to Alzheimer’s, as well as other biological markers of the disease, the question becomes: Would you want to know? (CNN)

One woman panicked when the genetic test she had ordered over the Internet concluded that her son was carrying a life-threatening disorder and, even more disturbing, that he was not — genetically — her son. Another, who always thought she was white, was flabbergasted to find her genes were mostly of African origin. A third woman’s result was still more stunning: She was a man, it said. (Washington Post)

After years of false starts, a new generation of DNA vaccines and medicines for HIV, influenza and other stubborn illnesses is now in clinical trials. (Scientific American)

Nature Medicine (Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles Include:

• “Legalese Creates Consent ‘Conundrum’ in Clinical Trials” by Elie Dolgin
• “FDA Strengthens its Stance Against Unethical Researchers” by Roxanne Palmer
• “Gene Test Kit Oversight Could Prove a Mixed Blessing for Research” by Megan Scudellari
• “Researchers Knock Down Gene to Stop HIV in its Tracks” by Janelle Weaver
• “Tech Teams Try to Curate Genetic Data for Future Use” by Cassandra Willyard
• “The Inverse of Immunity” by Elie Dolgin
• “The Delay in Sharing Research Data is Costing Lives” by Josh Sommer