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Sensory disorders can have a profound effect on health and quality of life—but gene therapy may be coming to the rescue. Gene therapy’s success in treating  blindness disorders –many are in late stage trials—gave hope to a field deterred by early missteps. And now gene therapy researchers are expanding their gaze to focus on all manner of sensory diseases. (The Scientist)

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has unveiled a new technique for vaccine design that could be particularly useful against HIV and other fast-changing viruses. (Nanowerk)

New research published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology describes genetically engineered Escherichia coli bacteria being addicted to caffeine in a way that promises practical uses ranging from decontamination of wastewater to bioproduction of medications for asthma. (Sci-news.com)

If you thought personalised advertising based on your Facebook status updates, Gmail content or online browsing behaviour was creepy, just you wait. The era of genetics-based advertising is coming, and it could be just as profitable. (Wired UK)

In an animal study, researchers at the University of Washington show that it was possible to use gene therapy to boost heart muscle function. The finding suggests that it might be possible to use this approach to treat patients whose hearts have been weakened by heart attacks and other heart conditions. (E! Science News)

These are just some of the applications that synthetic biology – applying engineering principles to biological parts – could make possible. That goal is looking more likely now that, for the first time, researchers have established a set of rules that could allow parts to be assembled with industrial rigour. Libraries of these standardised high-quality parts will let engineers pick components knowing how they will behave. (New Scientist)

New research has nearly doubled the number of genetic variations implicated in breast, prostate and ovarian cancer, offering fresh avenues for screening at-risk patients and, potentially, developing better drugs. (Reuters)

Testing for fetal abnormalities can alert expectant parents to potential health problems to come. And it’s the parents who should decide on how to act on those results, right? (Time)

A clinical trial using a patient’s own immune system to produce remissions in adults with acute leukemia could be a major breakthrough in the fight against all different kinds of cancer. (ABC News)

Special issue of Translational Research is devoted to the topic of the gene therapy. (Eurekalert)

In a new discovery that represents a major step in solving a critical design challenge, Arizona State University Professor Hao Yan has led a research team to produce a wide variety of 2-D and 3-D structures that push the boundaries of the burgeoning field of DNA nanotechnology. (Science Daily)

Researchers reported fresh evidence Wednesday that using gene therapy to manipulate the immune system is emerging as a promising new strategy in the fight against cancer. (Wall Street Journal)

Genetic testing may help identify women at risk for certain types of breast cancer, according to a new study. (U.S. News and World Report)

A unique new cancer treatment uses gene therapy to induce a cancer-fighting immune response whose intensity can then be controlled with a pill. The combination could help tailor treatment to a patient’s individual response. (MIT Technology Review)

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is considering whether to recommend legalisation of “mitochondrial replacement” techniques designed to avoid the transmission of mitochondrial diseases. We believe the benefits to a small number of parents are heavily outweighed by the risks to the child and to society. (The Guardian)

Most people who live to old age will suffer from arthritis. The condition’s prevalence is growing alongside a graying world population. However the only treatments at the moment address the symptoms rather than the cause—the loss of cartilage in joints. Joint replacement is a last-ditch solution for some sufferers. Now a gene therapy approach has demonstrated promise in staving off arthritis in mice, opening the door to human testing. (Discovery Magazine)

Discovering your DNA sequence is cheap and easy, and that genetic knowledge could change – even save – your life. [Op-ed by one of the founders of 23andMe]. (The Guardian)

An international team of genetic researchers led by Prof Merlin Crossley from the University of New South Wales has found the third and final missing piece in the genetic puzzle of an unusual form of haemophilia, known as haemophilia B Leyden, more than two decades after the first two pieces were discovered. (Sci-news.com)

The procedures described, currently under evaluation by the British Human Fertilisation and Embryo Authority (HFEA) for the prevention of “mitochondrial diseases,” would carry profoundly negative implications for the future of the human species were they ever implemented, and thus warrant much wider concern than they have attracted up until now. In particular, they will facilitate a new form of eugenics, the improvement of humans by deliberately choosing their inherited traits. (Huffington Post)

In ten years time, routine preventive health care for adults may include genetic testing alongside the now familiar tests for cholesterol levels, mammography and colonoscopy. (Medical Xpress)

Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN)’s Australian court victory recognizing its ownership of patents for genes linked to cancer risks will be appealed by a group representing cancer patients, a law firm said. (Bloomberg)