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~~~~~~~~~~
|
/  GENETICS
GENETICS News:
20080430
-
 Racism
-  Texas
- Prison
-  History
-  People
- DNA
- Human
Rights - "DNA
frees Texas man imprisoned for 27 years." ... "James
Woodard [a black male], 55, spent more time in prison than any other wrongfully
convicted inmate in U.S. [United States] history who was subsequently freed
by DNA testing, local media reported." ... "He was also the eighteenth
person freed in Dallas County [Texas] based on a post-conviction DNA analysis,
according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that
specializes in righting grave miscarriages of justice." ... "That is more
than any other U.S. county, highlighting problems in the local justice
system that include what critics have said is a history of racism and racial
profiling." -By Ed Stoddard with contributions by
Todd Eastham -Reuters
20080205
-
 Health
-  Food
- Safety
- Consumer
- Freedom
of Speech - Genetic
-  Science
- Agriculture
-  Corporate
-  Law
-  Politics
-  Vermont
- "Ben
& Jerry's Fights For Labeling Rights: States,
Industry Challenge Ice Cream Maker's Right To Advertise As Synthetic Hormone-Free."
... "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. [Incorporated], one of the first companies
to label its ice cream as free of a synthetic hormone, is protesting a
move by some states to restrict such labeling." ... "The South Burlington
[Vermont] ice-cream maker has joined a national campaign to block what
critics say is an effort driven by Monsanto Co. [Company], which markets
recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, also known as recombinant bovine
growth hormone, or rBGH." ... ""We're very concerned about, from a primary
standpoint, the freedom of speech to be able to put what we believe is
truthful and appropriate messaging on our packaging," said Rob Michalak,
a spokesman for Ben & Jerry's, which has mounted a campaign to get
consumers on its side." ... "But a newly formed farmers' group, backed
by Monsanto, is pushing for labeling changes, saying the hormone-free labels
imply that the milk is safer than other milk, when they say it's not."
-AP via -CBSNews
20070814
-
Human
- Animal
- Brain
- Health
- Genetics
- "The
Beam of Light That Flips a Switch That Turns on the Brain."
... "It sounds like a science-fiction version of stupid pet tricks: by
toggling a light switch, neuroscientists can set fruit flies a-leaping
and mice a-twirling and stop worms in their squiggling tracks." ... "Light
stimulation every 200 milliseconds generates electrical activity, right,
in an area of the brain associated with depression." ... "But such feats,
unveiled in the past two years, are proof that a new generation of genetic
and optical technology can give researchers unprecedented power to turn
on and off targeted sets of cells in the brain, and to do so by remote
control." ... "These novel techniques will bring an “exponential change”
in the way scientists learn about neural systems, said Dr. Helen Mayberg,
a clinical neuroscientist at Emory University, who is not involved in the
research but has seen videos of the worm experiments." ... "“A picture
is worth a thousand words,” Dr. Mayberg said." ... "Some day, the remote-control
technology might even serve as a treatment for neurological and psychiatric
disorders." (1, 2)
-By Ingfei Chen -NYTimes
-
 Alberto
R Gonzales - Politics
- DNA
- Law
-  California
- "Gonzales
could get say in states' executions: Proposed rules
would let the attorney general sign off on 'fast tracking' death penalty
appeals." ... "The Justice Department is putting the final touches on regulations
that could give Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales important new sway over
death penalty cases in California and other states, including the power
to shorten the time that death row inmates have to appeal convictions to
federal courts." ... "The rules implement a little-noticed provision in
last year's reauthorization of the Patriot Act that gives the attorney
general the power to decide whether individual states are providing adequate
counsel for defendants in death penalty cases. The authority has been held
by federal judges." ... "Under the rules now being prepared, if a state
requested it and Gonzales agreed, prosecutors could use "fast track" procedures
that could shave years off the time that a death row inmate has to appeal
to the federal courts after conviction in a state court." ... "The move
to shorten the appeals process and effectively speed up executions comes
at a time of growing national concern about the fairness of the death penalty,
underscored by the use of DNA testing to establish the innocence of more
than a dozen death row inmates in recent years." ... "About 3,350 people
are on death row in the U.S., including more than 600 in California." (1,
2)
-By Richard B. Schmitt with contributions by Henry
Weinstein -LAtimes
20070813
-
 US
-  Global
-  Germany
-  Dutch
- Genetics
-  Environmental
- Science
-  Children
- Safety
- Politics
- Free-Market
- History
- "America
Loses Its Stature as Tallest Country." ... "Pundits
often opine that America's stature is declining on the global stage. It
turns out that Americans --literally -- are not standing as tall, compared
with the rest of the world, as they used to." ... "U.S. adults lost their
position as the tallest people on Earth to the Dutch [Netherlands], who
average about two inches taller than the typical American. In fact, American
men now rank ninth and women 15th in average height, having fallen short
of many other European nations." ... ""Americans, who have been the tallest
in the world for a very long time, are no longer the tallest," said John
Komlos of the University of Munich [Germany], who has published a series
of papers documenting the trend. "Americans have not kept up with western
European populations."" ... "The idea that many Europeans are looking down
on Americans has led to a flurry of interest in trying to explain the trend,
with debate focusing on whether to blame the lack of universal health care
and other holes in the nation's social safety net, particularly for children."
... ""We conjecture that perhaps the western and northern European welfare
states, with their universal socioeconomic safety nets, are able to provide
a higher biological standard of living to their children and youth than
the more free-market-oriented U.S. economy," Komlos wrote in one of his
latest papers, published in June in the journal Social Science Quarterly."
... "While some researchers agree, others are more cautious, arguing that
height is determined by a complicated amalgam of genetic, environmental,
social and biological influences." -By Rob Stein
-WashingtonPost
20051223
-
 South
Korea -  Stem
Cells - Cloning
- Genetics
- Health
- US
- "S.
Korean's Stem Cell Data Fake, Panel Says." ... "A
panel investigating the work of South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo
Suk has concluded that he deliberately fabricated key data in a landmark
paper this year, offering the first evidence of what is potentially one
of the greatest frauds in modern science." ... "The expert panel at Seoul
National University, where Hwang conducted his research, found that nine
of 11 stem cell lines he claimed to have created did not exist." ... "Hwang's
paper, published in May by the U.S. journal Science, purported to describe
the creation of 11 human embryo clones using DNA from patients suffering
from spinal cord injuries and genetic diseases. No other research group
has succeeded in cloning human embryos, though many have been trying."
... "Hwang's team claimed it used the embryos to create individualized
lines of stem cells that were perfect genetic matches to the 11 patients.
The achievement, known as therapeutic cloning, was believed to be the first
step toward creating personalized stem cell therapies for patients." (1,
2)
-By Barbara Demick and Karen Kaplan with contribution
by Jinna Park and -AP
-LAtimes
20051208
-
Animals
- Pets
- Genetics
- "Genetic
Secrets of Man's Best Friend Revealed." ... "Scientists
have decoded the dog genome. A boxer named Tasha, selected for her high
degree of inbreeding, has had her genetic secrets puzzled out and then
compared to partial genetic pictures of other breeds of dog and other mammals.
It has been a long wait for humanity's first companion, domesticated from
grey wolves at least 15,000 years ago." ... "Researchers first broke up
Tasha's genome into small sections of genetic material, deciphered the
makeup of each of those bits, and then pieced them together into a complete
genetic map--the so-called whole genome shotgun strategy. Tasha's high
degree of inbreeding simplified the task of decoding her 2.4 billion-letter
genetic code by reducing the differences between her 39 chromosome pairs.
The fact that she is a female, however, left the team without a picture
of the canine Y chromosome." -By David Biello
-ScientificAmerican
20051024
-
Brain
- Genetics
- Drug
- Science
- "Schizophrenia
Linked to Genetic Mutation." ... "Heredity seems
to play a major role in schizophrenia, since the disease runs in families,
and now new research sheds light on exactly how a genetic mutation disrupts
the brain and makes people develop the condition." ... "The findings could
eventually result in better drugs for schizophrenia, which is difficult
to treat. For now, however, they're helping scientists understand the development
of the disease, said Dr. Doron Gothelf, a child psychiatrist at Stanford
University and co-author of a study in the Oct. 23 online issue of Nature
Neuroscience." -Forbes
20050901
-
Animals
- Genetics
-
-
- "Chimp
genome could reveal human secrets: What sets us apart
from apes? At latest count, about 4 percent of our DNA." ... "Scientists
announced yesterday that they had completed analysis of the genome of a
chimpanzee, humanity's closest genetic relative, and found that the gap
between humans and chimps is about 10 times smaller than the one between
rats and mice." ... "''The philosophical goal is that we all want to know
what makes us human," said researcher Tarjei S. Mikkelsen of the Broad
Institute of MIT and Harvard, which helped sequence the chimp genome. ''The
pragmatic goal is that it will help us understand diseases and conditions
that are unique to humans."" -By Carey Goldberg
-BostonGlobe
20050720
-
-
- 
-
- Animals
- Food
- Genetics
- "China
holding out on bird flu." ... "The Chinese government
has not provided information requested urgently by international health
experts about recent avian flu outbreaks in birds, which now threaten to
spread the highly lethal virus to previously unaffected countries, according
to UN officials and independent researchers." ... "World Health Organization
officials and other international health organizations have asked the Chinese
government for details about three outbreaks in the remote western provinces
of Qinghai and Xinjiang. In seeking to head off a potential human pandemic,
international health experts said they require samples of the bird flu
virus, analyses of its genetic makeup and specifics about the extent of
the infection and efforts to contain it."-WashingtonPost
via -Newsday.com
20050519
-
-
- Cloning
- Stem
Cells
- Genetics
- "Scientists
Clone Stem Cells From Human Patients." ... "South
Korean scientists have surmounted a key hurdle in stem cell research, reporting
today that they have produced 11 human embryo clones of injured or sick
patients and harvested individualized stem cells in a process that could
be used to treat patients with their own genetically matched tissues."
... "The technique, reported by the same team that produced the first human
embryo clones last year, also produced the stem cells with a much higher
level of efficiency than in the past, boosting the technology well into
the realm of medical therapy." ... "If the technique can be replicated
in other labs, scientists said they could create individualized lines of
stem cells to produce tissues suitable for transplants without running
the risk of rejection." (1, 2)
-By Karen Kaplan-LAtimes
20050307
-
-
- GENETICS
- "At-Home
Genetic Testing Raises Questions: Cheap At-Home Genetic
Testing Opens Deep Pandora's Box, Troubling Some Medical Professionals."
... "They are exploiting the blizzard of genetic discoveries reported almost
daily since scientists published the complete map of all human genes five
years ago." ... "The tests are cheap, easy to administer, often just a
cotton swab inside the cheek, and the results are available online, cutting
out the visit to the doctor's office." ... "Plus, the companies note, the
test results aren't usually jotted down on official medical histories,
which keeps sensitive information away from insurance companies." ... "Still,
as the popularity of at-home genetic tests soars, so do questions about
whether they will be correctly interpreted." (1, 2,
3)
-By Paul Elias -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
20050223
-
- "Forensic
Identification of 9/11 Victims Ends: More Than 1,000
Victims Unidentified Due to Technological Limits." ... "Shortly after the
9/11 terrorist attacks, authorities said they would continue searching
until they could return to every family something of their lost relative."
... "But now, families of nearly half of the 2,749 who died in the attacks
will soon receive letters from the New York City Medical Examiner's Office
saying it has reached the limits of forensic science for now." ... "Remains
of 57 percent of the victims were identified using DNA, dental records,
or bits of jewelry." (1, 2)
-ABCNEWS.com
20050218
-
-
-
- "Senate
OKs ban on genetic discrimination." ... "The Senate
voted Thursday to protect people who are reluctant to have genetic testing
for breast cancer or heart disease because of fears the results might cost
them their jobs or health insurance." ... "Senators voted 98-0 for legislation
prohibiting employers from using genetic information in hiring and firing
decisions and barring insurers from using such information to deny coverage
or raise premiums." ... "In 2003 the Senate, on a 95-0 vote, passed a nearly
identical bill, also sponsored by Snowe, and more than half the House members
agreed to support a companion bill introduced by Rep. Louise Slaughter,
D-N.Y. But the Republican leadership in the House never brought the legislation
to a vote before the full vote." -By Jim Abrams
-AP via -SeattlePI.NWsource
-
- "Gene
map opens up uncharted territory: Patterns of genetic
variation could help tailor drug therapy to particular patients." ... "A
map has been unveiled that shows the pattern of genetic variation among
people descended from populations all over the globe. The information should
be a valuable resource for researchers hoping to tailor medicines to individual
patients based on their genes." ... "To construct the map, David Cox of
Perlegen Sciences in Mountain View, California, and his colleagues took
DNA samples from 71 US volunteers descended from European, African and
Chinese populations. They then catalogued the distribution of small genetic
differences called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)." -By
Michael Hopkin -Nature
|
~~~~~~~~~~
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Special
Report
-
-
"Double
Helix: 50 Years of DNA." ... ""This structure has
novel features which are of considerable biological interest"" ... "In
April 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick wrote these words as part of
the opening paragraph of a Letter to Nature. As part of the 50th anniversary
celebrations of the publication of the structure of DNA, Nature presents
this web focus, containing a collection of overviews celebrating the historical,
scientific and cultural impacts of the discovery of the double helix. All
content is free, and over 2003 will include news, special features, and
an archive including all the classic papers from 1953."
-Nature.com
GENETICS
|
- 
- "Conquering
Cancer: Despite a spate of setbacks in testing
new cancer drugs for the broadest possible market, mysterious miracle cures
are emerging in a few patients." [Forbes/Magazine20021111Cover
Story: "Miracle Pill: She was 18 and dying of lung cancer.
This pill saved her life--but failed to help almost everyone else.
Should it be approved?"] ... "Her options dwindling, she began taking Iressa,
an experimental drug [Iressa] from AstraZeneca, in January of this year.
Within a few months all of the remaining tumors had vanished." ... "But
in one small trial the AstraZeneca drug didn't much help 90% of the cancer
patients. Worse, Iressa failed to extend the lives of patients with lung
cancer in two much larger tests involving over 2,000 people." ... "The
problem is particularly complex. At least 200 defective genes play a role
in causing cancer, and two dozen of them are the targets of over 500 experimental
drugs now in development. In any one patient probably only 5 or 6 of the
200 genes are involved, and in the next patient a different mix of genes
is at work. Yet drugmakers haven't figured out how to tell which particular
bad genes are the driving force in an individual patient's case." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By
Robert Langreth 20021111
-Forbes /Magazine
- "[Oregon
State petition seeks] Labels for genetically modified food sought."
... "The
proposed November ballot measure would require labeling of all genetically
engineered food sold in Oregon or distributed from the state. Labels saying
“Genetically Engineered” and perhaps including more information also would
be required for food additives and packaging containing GMOs." -By
Laurence M. Cruz -StatesmanJournal
