How Much Would You Pay To See Your Future?

Image: Whole-genome sequencing could be affordable and accurate enough to perform on every newborn with a simple heel-prick blood test in a matter of years.
(Credit: Elizabeth Armstrong Moore/CNET)

From CNET:

My dad used to say technology is advancing so quickly that, by the time a product reaches market, it is already obsolete. Moreover, if you wait just a little longer, you can pay a lot less. The sequencing of the human genome takes the advancement of technology, and its fast reduction in cost, to an entirely new level.

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Gene-Makers Put Forward Security Standards

From Scientific American:

But few companies are willing to sign up yet.

Several gene-synthesis companies yesterday finalized a code of conduct that outlines how to screen orders for synthetic DNA that could be used for terrorist activities.

The code, which has been in the works from the International Association of Synthetic Biology (IASB) in Heidelberg, Germany, for a year and a half, reflects for the most part what has become common practice in gene-synthesis companies. Before filling orders, the firms compare the gene sequences with those from organisms on lists of pathogens, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's select-agents list. Most companies then follow up 'hits' with human investigation of whether the match is valid and the purchaser is legitimate.

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For the First Time, Geneticists Diagnose Disease Through Whole-Genome Analysis

DNA Helix ynse

From Popular Science:

For the first time, researchers have made a clinical diagnosis by sequencing the entire protein-coding parts of a person's genome.

"We have shown that one can use whole genome sequencing to make clinically meaningful diagnoses- it is technically feasible . . . and can provide new clinical insight that directs treatment," Richard Lifton, a geneticist at Yale who spearheaded the research, told Popsci.com.

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Color Differences Within And Between Species Have Common Genetic Origin

Body hair difference is more pronounced between chimpanzees and humans than within our own species. Biologists have puzzled over the same genes cause both types of variation, not just with respect to people, chimps and body hair, but for all sorts of traits that differ within and between species. New research shows that, at least for body color in fruit flies, the two kinds of variation have a common genetic basis. (Credit: iStockphoto/Warwick Lister-Kaye)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Oct. 25, 2009) — Spend a little time people-watching at the beach and you're bound to notice differences in the amount, thickness and color of people's body hair. Then head to the zoo and compare people to chimps, our closest living relatives.

The body hair difference is even more pronounced between the two species than within our own species.

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Massive Gene Database Planned In California

Photo: Spit kit: Genetic data from a diverse group of 100,000 California patients will be gleaned from samples of saliva, captured in kits like this one. Credit: Kaiser Permanente

From Technology Review:

The data will be compared against electronic health records and patients' personal information.

Plans for genetic analyses of 100,000 older Californians--the first time genetic data will be generated for such a large and diverse group--will accelerate research into environmental and genetic causes of disease, researchers say.

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Gene Linked To Better And Faster Decision Making

From The Telegraph:

Decision-makers are born not made, say scientists, as they discover people inherit a decisive gene.

The researchers found that people with a particular gene made quicker and more accurate decisions.

They were also better at learning tasks that require rapid and flexible decision-making compared to those with a different genetic make-up.

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Wide Angle: Genetic Science

From Discovery Magazine:

Discovery Tech explores manipulating genes for our own good.

Not only has the human genome been sequenced, but so too have the genomes of many animals and crops. The sequences represent a genetic blue print of how these organisms function and how they might be repaired when they don't function. In this Wide Angle on Genetic Science, we'll look at the myriad ways, whys and hows researchers are modifying the genes of various life-forms in order to treat disease, modify crops, clone animals and repair tissue.

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DNA Sequencing In A Holey New Way

DNA molecules will be held in place by tiny voltages within the nanohole

From The BBC:

IBM will announce on Tuesday how it intends to hold DNA molecules in tiny holes in silicon in an effort to decode their genetic secrets letter by letter.

Their microelectronic approach solves one of two long-standing problems in "nanopore" DNA sequencing: how to stop it flying through too quickly.

The aim is to speed up DNA sequencing in a push toward personalised medicine.

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Genetic Discovery Could Break Wine Industry Bottleneck, Accelerate Grapevine Breeding

From Science Daily:

One of the best known episodes in the 8000-year history of grapevine cultivation led to biological changes that have not been well understood – until now. Through biomolecular detective work, German researchers have uncovered new details about the heredity of Vitis varieties in cultivation today. In the process, they have opened the way to more meaningful classification, accelerated breeding, and more accurate evaluation of the results, potentially breaking a bottleneck in the progress of the wine industry.

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Genetics May Explain Why Some Children Have Sex Earlier Than Others

From The Independent:

Genetics may explain why children who live in homes without fathers have sex at a younger age than others, according to a report published today.

The study, published in the American journal Child Development, found a genetic theory to challenge "environmental" theories which previously explained the link.

Researchers looked at more than 1,000 cousins aged 14 and older, testing for genetic influences as well as factors such as poverty, education opportunities and religion.

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Is Warfare in Our Genes? Apparently Not

Can humans ever live in eternal peace? (Image: Rex Features)

Winning The Ultimate Battle: How Humans Could End War -- The Scientist

OPTIMISTS called the first world war "the war to end all wars". Philosopher George Santayana demurred. In its aftermath he declared: "Only the dead have seen the end of war". History has proved him right, of course. What's more, today virtually nobody believes that humankind will ever transcend the violence and bloodshed of warfare. I know this because for years I have conducted numerous surveys asking people if they think war is inevitable. Whether male or female, liberal or conservative, old or young, most people believe it is. For example, when I asked students at my university "Will humans ever stop fighting wars?" more than 90 per cent answered "No". Many justified their assertion by adding that war is "part of human nature" or "in our genes". But is it really?

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My Comment: A fascinating read. Somehow I missed this story. Read the whole thing.

Researchers Identify Critical Gene For Brain Development, Mental Retardation

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2009) — In laying down the neural circuitry of the developing brain, billions of neurons must first migrate to their correct destinations and then form complex synaptic connections with their new neighbors.

When the process goes awry, neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation, dyslexia or autism may result. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have now discovered that establishing the neural wiring necessary to function normally depends on the ability of neurons to make finger-like projections of their membrane called filopodia.

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We Are All Mutants Say Scientists

From The BBC:

Each of us has at least 100 new mutations in our DNA, according to research published in the journal Current Biology.

Scientists have been trying to get an accurate estimate of the mutation rate for over 70 years.

However, only now has it been possible to get a reliable estimate, thanks to "next generation" technology for genetic sequencing.

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Discovery Of Novel Genes Could Unlock Mystery Of What Makes Us Uniquely Human

A baby chimp (Pan troglodytes) and his handler looking at each other.
(Credit: iStockphoto/Warwick Lister-Kaye)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2009) — Humans and chimpanzees are genetically very similar, yet it is not difficult to identify the many ways in which we are clearly distinct from chimps. In a study published online in Genome Research, scientists have made a crucial discovery of genes that have evolved in humans after branching off from other primates, opening new possibilities for understanding what makes us uniquely human.

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GM Monkeys With DNA Of THREE Parents Raises Hope Of Eradicating Incurable Diseases

From The Daily Mail:

Scientists have produced four baby monkeys who each have three biological parents.

They used an IVF procedure designed to stop the spread of incurable inherited diseases.

Scientists believe the breakthrough could lead to the first genetically engineered children within a few years.

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The Business Of Personal Genomes

Image: Genomic profile: Shown here is a close-up look at a genetic sequence done by Knome, a personal genomics startup in Cambridge, MA. The image shows a chromosome (top) and the letter-by-letter sequence (bottom) in a small section of that chromosome. The pink box highlights a specific genetic variation. Credit: Knome

From Technology Review:

Jorge Conde speaks on the complexities of personal genomics.

In some ways, Jorge Conde, cofounder of the genomics startup Knome, knows his clients more intimately than any other company president. Knome is the first company to sequence and analyze a consumer's complete genome. And Conde and his team have spent a full day with each member of their select clientele, going through the minute details of the results in search of hidden genomic time bombs, subtle health risks, and other information.

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DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body: Major Genetic Differences Between Blood And Tissue Cells Revealed

New research calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. (Credit: iStockphoto)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (July 16, 2009) — Research by a group of Montreal scientists calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. Their results appear in the July issue of the journal Human Mutation.

This discovery may undercut the rationale behind numerous large-scale genetic studies conducted over the last 15 years, studies which were supposed to isolate the causes of scores of human diseases.

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DNA Is Dynamic And Has High Energy; Not Stiff Or Static As First Envisioned

New research shows that DNA is not a stiff or static as once thought.
(Credit: iStockphoto/Andrew Wood)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (July 14, 2009) — The interaction represented produced the famous explanation of the structure of DNA, but the model pictured is a stiff snapshot of idealized DNA. As researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston note in a report that appears online in the journal Nucleic Acids Research, DNA is not a stiff or static. It is dynamic with high energy. It exists naturally in a slightly underwound state and its status changes in waves generated by normal cell functions such as DNA replication, transcription, repair and recombination.

DNA is also accompanied by a cloud of counterions (charged particles that neutralize the genetic material's very negative charge) and, of course, the protein macromolecules that affect DNA activity.

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How Trivial DNA Changes Can Hurt Health

From Scientific American:

Small changes to DNA that were once considered innocuous enough to be ignored are proving to be important in human diseases, evolution and biotechnology.

Biologists long thought they understood how genetic mutations cause disease. But recent work has revealed an important twist in the tale and uncovered surprising—even counterintuitive—ways that alterations in DNA can make people sick. The classic view assumed that what are termed “silent” mutations were inconsequential to health, because such changes in DNA would not alter the composition of the proteins encoded by genes. Proteins function in virtually every process carried out by cells, from catalyzing biochemical reactions to recognizing foreign invaders. Hence, the thinking went, if a protein’s makeup ends up being correct, any small glitches in the process leading to its construction could not do a body harm.

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Genetic Difference Found in Wild vs. Tame Animals

From Live Science:

A study of nasty and nice lab rats has scientists on the verge of knowing the genes that separate wild animals like lions and wolves from their tame cousins, cats and dogs.

Unlike their wild ancestors, house pets and other domesticated animals share the trait of tameness, meaning they tolerate or even seek out human presence. New research, which is published in the June issue of the journal Genetics and involved the interbreeding of friendly and aggressive rats, reveals gene regions that influence the opposing behaviors.

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