December 13, 2024
(NPR) – “The for-profit sector is focusing on conditions, such as sickle cell disease, such as cancer, which are commercially viable because there are just enough people with them,” Urnov says. The problem is, “that leaves 99.5% of folks outside … Read More
December 12, 2024
(Knowable Magazine) – Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us. Everyone has heard that it’s … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Wired) – “People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.” For years now, aspiring parents have been designing their children. Screening embryos for disease-causing genes during IVF, selecting their future baby’s sex, … Read More
December 10, 2024
(Undark) – New dialogues are emerging about what comes next in biology, 25 years after completion of a draft of the human genome. In today’s world, post-genomic is built on two important ideas: that, as previously mentioned, doing genomics is … Read More
December 6, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – The UK is seen as a global leader in regulating reproductive technologies. Some worry that onerous paperwork is causing embryos to be wasted. IVF is a success story for embryo research. But today, valuable embryos that … Read More
December 6, 2024
(Live Science) – Dozens of people in the United States have caught bird flu from animals this year, but there’s no evidence that the viral disease has spread from one person to another. However, a single mutation in the virus … Read More
December 4, 2024
(The Guardian) – I gave away my genetic information to a now imploding company for results that inspired nothing but ambivalence 23andMe is facing implosion. As the once-promising genetic testing company flounders – losing 98% of its $6bn value, all … Read More
December 2, 2024
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 32, no. 11, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 26, 2024
(Wired) – The genome-editing technology can be supercharged by artificial intelligence—and the results are already being felt. In my field, Crispr gene editing and genomics more broadly, we often deal with enormous datasets—or, in many cases, we can’t deal with … Read More
November 25, 2024
(New York Times) – Labs around the world are trying to turn cells into autobiographers, tracking their own development from embryos to adults. Dr. Stadler’s lab and others around the world are trying to turn cells into their own historians, … Read More
November 21, 2024
(MedPage Today) – Australian study explored screening for hundreds of genetic conditions Couples who were found to be genetic carriers for autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic conditions often opted to change their reproductive strategy, a large Australian population-based study found. … Read More
November 20, 2024
(The Atlantic) – The BRCA genes became inextricably linked with breasts, as much as the pink ribbons that have become an international symbol of breast cancer. And in driving more women to find out if they have BRCA mutations, it’s … Read More
November 15, 2024
(Wired) – It’s been a year since the gene-editing treatment Casgevy was approved for sickle cell disease and a related blood disorder. It’s finally being infused into patients. When WIRED followed up with Vertex via email, spokesperson Eleanor Celeste declined … Read More
November 14, 2024
(Nature) – Deleting just two genes that control sugar production makes a more succulent fruit. Rotten tomatoes no more: growing sweeter tomatoes is possible by editing just two of the fruit’s genes. Deleting the genes increased the engineered fruits’ glucose … Read More
November 14, 2024
(Gizmodo) – Doctors say that Richard Slayman’s body did not reject a pig kidney modified to become more compatible with human biology. A historic medical accomplishment that ended in tragedy may yet have a silver lining. Doctors say that Richard … Read More
November 13, 2024
(The Scientist) – Researchers used artificial intelligence in large genomics studies to fill in gaps in patient information and improve predictions, but new research uncovers false positives and misleading correlations. With AI-assisted GWAS [genome-wide association studies], Lu and his colleagues … Read More
November 13, 2024
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy (vol. 27, no. 4, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 12, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – DNA-testing company 23andMe said on Monday that it was firing roughly 40% of its workforce, more than 200 people, as Chief Executive Anne Wojcicki seeks to stabilize her money-losing business. As part of the restructuring, the … Read More
November 12, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Gaps in the United States’ genetic-nondiscrimination law mean that life, long-term-care, and disability insurers can obligate their customers to disclose genetic risk factors for disease and deny them coverage (or hike prices) based on the resulting information. … Read More
November 11, 2024
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 32, no. 10, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 8, 2024
(Nature) – Three people with severely impaired vision who received stem-cell transplants have experienced substantial improvements in their sight that have persisted for more than a year. A fourth person with severely impaired vision also experienced gains in their sight, … Read More
November 7, 2024
(Nature) – Scientists raise the alarm following updated research ethics guidelines on heritable human genome editing. Researchers have voiced concerns after South Africa updated its health-research ethics guidelines to include a new section on heritable (or germline) human genome editing. … Read More
November 7, 2024
(The Guardian) – Tumours could be reduced by targeting genetic material driving their growth with a new drug in early-stage trials Scientists have raised hopes of treating some of the most aggressive cases of cancer by targeting small fragments of … Read More
November 6, 2024
Journal of Medical Ethics (vol. 50, no. 11, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 4, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Lupus cannot be cured. No autoimmune disease can be cured. Two years ago, however, a study came out of Germany that rocked all of these assumptions. Five patients with uncontrolled lupus went into complete remission after undergoing … Read More
