Now on ScienceBlogs: The Australian's War on Science 41
Commentary on human genetics and evolution, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, and the personal genomics industry.
Daniel MacArthur
I write about the genetic and evolutionary basis of human variation, and the companies trying to sell you information about your genome.
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October 30, 2008
Category: 23andme
Retail DNA tests - personified by personal genomics company 23andMe - have been named Time magazine's Invention of the Year. The fairly lengthy citation notes that "[a]lthough 23andMe isn't the only company selling DNA tests to the public, it does...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 4:50 PM • 7 Comments •
Category: personal genomics
In a recent post on personal genomics company 23andMe's corporate blog, senior research director Joanna Mountain describes the process of analysing the genes of her two young sons. What are the ethical implications of genetic testing of children?
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:36 AM • 13 Comments •
October 29, 2008
Category: personal genomics
Over at Think Gene, Drew Yates has a fine rant about the notion that using unsupported genomic information to make medical decisions is better than simple voodoo....
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:09 PM • 0 Comments •
October 24, 2008
Category: cancer
Over at PolITiGenomics, Washington University's David Dooling discusses his work as part of the Tumor Sequencing Project. The TSP and a variety of other groups (like The Cancer Genome Atlas) are using large-scale sequencing to create comprehensive maps of the...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 9:05 AM • 0 Comments •
October 23, 2008
Category: whole-genome sequencing
When James Watson published his genome sequence online, he kept just one region a secret - the APOE gene, which is linked with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Now an Australian team has shown that Watson needs to delete far more DNA to remove this risk information from public scrutiny.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 10:22 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: personal genome project
Amid much media excitement the Personal Genome Project has released preliminary sequence data from four participants, including George Church and Esther Dyson. Thus far the results are rather underwhelming.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 10:10 AM • 5 Comments •
October 20, 2008
Category: exome sequencing
The Personal Genome Project will begin releasing genome sequence data to its first 10 participants today - and they will get to decide whether or not to broadcast their genetic secrets to the rest of the world.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 1:53 PM • 3 Comments •
October 15, 2008
Category: candidate gene sequencing
Personal genomics company Navigenics has announced that it will be offering targeted gene sequencing services from later this year, and whole-genome sequencing within a few years. Is the personal genomics industry ready for the challenges of large-scale sequencing data?
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 5:24 AM • 1 Comments •
October 14, 2008
Two new genome-wide association studies for baldness highlight two genetic regions - one previously unknown - associated with premature hair loss.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 4:27 PM • 0 Comments •
October 12, 2008
Category: genetics of normal variation
Nature News has an intriguing article on the next three decades of reproductive medicine: essentially a series of short musings from scientists working in the field about the issues we will be facing in 30 year's time.It's worth reading...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:29 AM • 0 Comments •
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