Heidi Colleran was previously a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is currently studying for a PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology at University College London (UCL), where she previously obtained an MSc in Human Evolution and Behaviour and an MRes in Anthropology. Previously, she studied Philosophy and Russian at Trinity College Dublin, and went on to complete the Graduate Conversion Programme in Psychology at London Metropolitan University.
'Don't use autobiography to justify past actions or motivations', says James Watson, famed for his part in the discovery of the structure of DNA, in the book he wrote about his life as a scientist...
The largest trial for a gene therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) will begin in the UK this month. Coordinated by the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium (GTC), 130 patients will be recruited and given working copies of the defective gene that leads to their condition...
Two US studies published this week have shed light on how a gene mutation can change the number of chromosomes present in the cells of more than 90 percent of cancers...
Ethnic and racial minorities are in danger of missing out on future medical advances - based on genetic research - because they are under-represented in basic studies, says a review published in Nature Genetics by a team of geneticists from Stanford University and University of California, San Francisco...
For the first time, a Cambridge-led team of scientists has succeeded in tracking the evolution and transmission of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) across the world, offering the possibility of affordable tests to identify and block fatal superbugs before they spread. The breakthrough, led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (WTSI) in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, UK, and published in the journal Science, means that researchers and public health officials may be better able to...
UK researchers have discovered a gene variant that regulates the rhythm of the heart, raising the prospect of new treatments for avoiding heart attacks and heart disease. The finding, by a team led by Imperial College London (ICL), and published in the journal Nature Genetics, may also help doctors to better understand why some patients are more susceptible to heart problems than others....
Distinguished embryologist Denis New, who developed seminal techniques for embryo culture, has died at the age of 80, reports The Guardian newspaper....
A team of scientists has taken male fertility research a major step forward, with the discovery of how androgenic hormones regulate the production of sperm in the testes of mice. The breakthrough, reported in the journal The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), may lead to greater understanding and control of male fertility, including the development of a male contraceptive 'pill', and treatments for infertility....
In the first study of its kind, researchers in the US have identified a genetic variant that appears to influence both a person's ability to empathise, and how they respond to stress. The research, by a team from Oregon State University and the University of California at Berkeley and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may shed significant light on scientists' understanding of autism, which is characterised by problems with empathy and social communicati...
Researchers from the University of Oxford and Copenhagen University Hospital have discovered a surprising link between the development of rare but benign testicular tumors and the genetic transmission of certain genetic diseases, such as achondroplasia (commonly known as dwarfism), Apert, Noonan and Costello syndromes, as well as some conditions causing stillbirth. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Danish Cancer Society, and published in the journal Nature Genetics, could help e...
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