dgmacarthur
Posts by this author
June 4, 2009
There has been some very interesting online discussion in a number of venues today about the topic of social media and scientific conferences. For those who missed my post yesterday, the discussion was sparked by an article in ScienceInsider reporting that Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory had produced…
June 4, 2009
Regular readers of this blog will be well aware that we are currently in the middle of a technology-driven revolution in genetics, which promises both advances in our understanding of human biology and profound social transformation. As we move into the genomic era, developing familiarity with the…
June 3, 2009
Razib from Gene Expression has a frankly heroic post up dissecting a recent paper on genetic variation around the FUT2 gene, which encodes a cell surface protein involved in the pathway that produces the ABO blood group antigens.
The story illustrates some of the difficulties associated with…
June 3, 2009
I've just been pointed to a post on ScienceInsider that mentions my recent coverage (also on Twitter) of the Cold Spring Harbor Biology of Genomes meeting, and the resulting request for clarification from some professional science reporters:
In addition to reporting on genetic variation in a gene…
May 20, 2009
BioArray News (subscription required) reports that genomic analysis technology provider Illumina has launched a new family of genotyping chips designed to simultaneously assay 4 million sites of variation in the human genome.
The chips are a major step up from the 1-million-feature chips that…
May 18, 2009
Personal genomics is a rapidly evolving game, with a clear end goal in sight: offering consumers an accurate, affordable and complete genome sequence, and providing them with tools to dig out the useful nuggets of information contained therein. That goal remains out of reach, and while DNA…
May 8, 2009
It's difficult to distill down a meeting as data-rich as the Cold Spring Harbor Biology of Genomes meeting, but here's a first-pass attempt.
We're sequencing lots of peopleOne of the highlights of the meeting was the update on progress from the 1000 Genomes (1KG) Project. I was fortunate enough to…
May 8, 2009
The GenomeWeb crew have been doing a great job of covering the Biology of Genomes conference - for more detail on the 1000 Genomes Project presentation see here (or here if you happen to have a subscription to In Sequence), and for a review of the panel discussion on genetic privacy (which I missed…
May 7, 2009
A couple of weeks ago I reported that personal genome sequencing company Knome had launched a publicity stunt: selling a complete genome sequence on eBay. I argued that the current information content in a human genome doesn't come anywhere near justifying that cost for most of us, although it…
May 3, 2009
I'll be spending the next few days at the Biology of Genomes meeting at Cold Spring Harbor, NY - one of the most awaited events on the genomics calendar. I plan to blog here about the major themes emerging from the meeting; you can also follow me on Twitter if you want shorter, punchier updates,…
April 30, 2009
This is a profoundly impressive paper - a study of the patterns of genetic variation in 2,400 individuals from 113 African populations, by far the most comprehensive analysis of African genetic diversity ever performed.
I had heard that Sarah Tishkoff's group had assembled a large
collection of…
April 30, 2009
For those who have been too distracted by swine flu to notice: shares of the biotech company Sequenom have plummeted by 77% after the company announced that the extremely promising initial results for its SEQureDx Down syndrome test - which is designed to detect Down syndrome fetuses using blood…
April 28, 2009
A new paper in Nature reports the results of a large genome-wide association of autism. After some fairly heroic data analysis, the researchers have managed to tag one region of the genome as containing a common variant that contribute to the disease, with odds ratios on the order of 1.2 (the paper…
April 28, 2009
Cho, Y., Go, M., Kim, Y., Heo, J., Oh, J., Ban, H., Yoon, D., Lee, M., Kim, D., Park, M., Cha, S., Kim, J., Han, B., Min, H., Ahn, Y., Park, M., Han, H., Jang, H., Cho, E., Lee, J., Cho, N., Shin, C., Park, T., Park, J., Lee, J., Cardon, L., Clarke, G., McCarthy, M., Lee, J., Lee, J., Oh, B.,…
April 27, 2009
This seems like pretty interesting news:
23andMe, Inc., an industry leader in personal genetics, and Palomar Pomerado Health
(PPH), the largest public health district in California, today
announced that PPH will be offering the 23andMe Personal Genome Service
for sale to San Diegans at its…
April 27, 2009
I usually try to maintain a fairly single-minded focus on genomics on this blog, but Alex Wild's current series of post on insect photography over at Photo Synthesis is simply stunning. Anyone interested in either photography or entomology - or simply appreciative of a beautiful image - should…
April 26, 2009
The Personal Genome Project, an initiative founded by George Church that ultimately seeks to sequence the complete genomes of 100,000 people, has called for the next wave of volunteers. The PGP will sequence your genome and give you back the data for the bargain-basement price of zero dollars (not…
April 25, 2009
The auction of a whole-genome sequencing service that I scoffed at a few days ago is now live on eBay - serious bidders only, please, and bids start at $68,000.
Here's what you get for your suitcase of cash:
Personal whole genome sequencing and comprehensive interpretation of your genome.
Knome'…
April 24, 2009
Associated Press reports that Germany will likely soon pass regressive laws limiting the use of genetic testing:
The German parliament approved legislation Friday limiting the use
of genetic testing in an effort to prevent the technology's abuse.
The law, which was debated for more than seven…
April 22, 2009
Personal genome sequencing provider Knome is planning to offer a complete genome sequence to the highest bidder on eBay - with the bidding opening at $68,000.
The plan, announced in an NY Times article today, is described as "essentially a publicity stunt" - the proceeds will be donated to the X…
April 22, 2009
Nutrigenomics is a word typically associated with shady companies trying to use genetic tests to sell you expensive diets - but GenomeWeb News reports that the area may finally be receiving some legitimate scientific attention:
The Salk Institute today said that it will use a $5.5 million grant…
April 22, 2009
I ranted yesterday about two misleading pieces in the Telegraph (an opinion piece from Steve Jones, and a follow-up article) that sequentially converted a debate between scientists over the value of genome-wide association studies and the future of genetic research into a broader indictment of the…
April 21, 2009
A paper just published online in Nature Genetics describes a brute force approach to finding the genes underlying serious diseases in cases where traditional methods fall flat. While somewhat successful, the study also illustrates the paradoxical challenge of working with large-scale sequencing…
April 21, 2009
I wrote a few days ago about a debate in the New England Journal of Medicine over the value of data emerging from recent genome-wide studies of the role of genetic variation in common human diseases and other traits. David Goldstein argued that genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have generated…
April 20, 2009
Mark Henderson reports that an influential UK think-tank, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, has launched an inquiry into personalised medicine:
The Nuffield working party includes nine scientists, social scientists,
lawyers and philosophers. It will consider whether genetic tests ought to be…
April 19, 2009
Jonathan Eisen summarises the major themes from the Joint Genome Institute meeting. He has a numbered list of 20 highlights - here's a few that I thought would be of most interest to Genetic Future readers:
2. Ecological and population genomics are truly the next big thing. 3. Related to the…
April 19, 2009
John Hawks riffs on the themes of a recent Economist article on personal genomics (which I've also talked about here).
Hawks argues that "nobody's quite figured out how to sell sequence to people" - that although 23andMe's marketing strategy is shrewd, it's still "marketing based on anxiety", and…
April 16, 2009
A reader pointed me to a recent Economist article on personal genomics. There are numerous tidbits of interest, such as a passing comment about the chaotic Chinese personal genomics industry (about which I know almost nothing). Perhaps the most important quote comes in the closing paragraph:
Dr…
April 16, 2009
Mary Mangan at Open Helix predicts that personal genomics will trigger the appearance of a brand new eating disorder: geneorexia nervosa.
...there will be a proportion of people who take their genetic information
(which I know is of varying utility at best right now to those who have been sequenced…
April 16, 2009
The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has four excellent and thought-provoking articles on the recent revolution in the genetics of common disease and its implications for personalised medicine and personal genomics. Razib and Misha Angrist have already commented, and there's…