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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.
Daniel also blogs about personal genomics at Genomes Unzipped.
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March 30, 2010
Category: gene patents
A US District Court handed down an astonishing decision yesterday: a ruling that invalidates patents on cancer genes held by Myriad Genetics. The decision is an unambiguous victory for critics of gene patents, but the long-term implications for the genetic diagnostics industry remain unclear.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 5:58 AM • 81 Comments •
March 23, 2010
Earlier this month I wrote a post skewering a terrible opinion piece about personal genomics in the Sunday Times by Camilla Long. This was my conclusion:If Long wishes to stay ignorant of her own genetic risks - just as she...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 1:15 PM • 7 Comments •
March 19, 2010
Category: next-generation sequencing
Nick Loman (of the University of Birmingham, and the Pathogens: Genes and Genomes blog) has a post updating us on his survey of second-generation sequencing machines around the world. Loman's results are also available in the format of a handy...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 7:30 AM • 5 Comments •
March 18, 2010
Category: commercial genetic testing
Update: Dan Vorhaus has a brilliantly thorough post outlining the implications of the registry.NIH Director Francis Collins has announced the creation of a voluntary registry for genetic testing services, with the details of each service being made fully available in...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 1:00 PM • 2 Comments •
March 14, 2010
Category: direct-to-consumer genetic testing
An excoriation of one of the worst op-ed articles on personal genomics I've ever had the misfortune to encounter: Camilla Long's hackish dismissal of the usefulness of genetic risk information.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 1:00 PM • 33 Comments •
March 11, 2010
Category: genome-wide association studies
Nic Wade says something very strange in his most recent article on whole genome sequencing in reference to the outcomes of genome-wide association studies:The results of this costly international exercise have been disappointing. About 2,000 sites on the human genome have...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 12:45 PM • 17 Comments •
Category: next-generation sequencing
Actor Glenn Close has had her complete genome sequenced by technology company Illumina. The company has also announced upcoming improvements to its sequencing service, hinting at some strong competition ahead between Illumina and sequencing provider Complete Genomics. That's good news for those of us waiting to get our own genomes sequenced.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 9:30 AM • 14 Comments •
March 10, 2010
Category: disease genetics
Two studies released today report the first ever uses of whole genome sequencing to pin down the genetic basis of severe disease. In the process, they illustrate both the promise and the serious challenges ahead as we move into the era of personal whole-genome sequencing.
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 5:00 PM • 11 Comments •
Category: agbt
Dan Koboldt has a very nice recap of the various sequencing technologies presented at last week's Advances in Genome Biology and Technology meeting. I totally agree with his central point:Something had been bothering me about the sequencing-company presentations this year,...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 6:15 AM • 2 Comments •
March 8, 2010
Category: genetic ancestry testing
Dan Vorhaus pointed me to this review of the recent PBS series Faces of America. I haven't seen the series myself, but I found this segment of the review hilarious:The element of the last PBS episode I found most intriguing...
Posted by Daniel MacArthur at 4:25 PM • 34 Comments •
denialism blog 02.14.2012
respectful insolence 02.14.2012
uncertain principles 02.13.2012
confessions of a science librarian 02.13.2012
starts with a bang! 02.13.2012
