Genetic tests that improve drug effectiveness are going neglected, warns expert
Genetic tests that could greatly improve the effectiveness of drug therapy for a wide variety of conditions are being underused or ignored, a leading expert says...
James Brooks was previously Science Editor and then Genetics Editor at BioNews and at the charity that publishes it, the Progress Educational Trust (PET). He is also Assistant Editor of Funding Insight and a reporter covering French news for Research Europe, both published by Research Professional. He began his career in journalism as a reporter for HR Grapevine Magazine, and has written for publications including the Guardian newspaper and the British Medical Journal. Previously, he studied Pharmacology at King 's College London and went on to obtain an MA in Science Journalism from City University London, where he received a commendation for most creative graduate. During his undergraduate degree, he took an extramural year at the Institut Gustave-Roussy cancer research centre, where he researched DNA topoisomerases. Before working in journalism, he spent seven years in Paris working at Euromedica and CTPartners (now part of DHR International), as a headhunter for the pharmaceutical industry.
by James Brooks
Genetic tests that could greatly improve the effectiveness of drug therapy for a wide variety of conditions are being underused or ignored, a leading expert says...
by James Brooks
I'll brook no cynicism, the Olympics was a dazzling display of what makes Britain great. Which is to say: marketing, PR and weapons-grade hype...
by James Brooks
A French court has effectively reaffirmed the country's policy of gamete donor anonymity by rejecting a donor-conceived woman's demand for information on her biological father...
by James Brooks
Use of assisted reproductive technologies like IVF carry with them an increased risk of complications for mother and child, a report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists highlights...
by James Brooks
A drug that mimics broken strands of DNA and pushes treatment-resistant cancer cells to autodestruct has produced encouraging results in a first clinical trial. The medicine, DT01, is the forerunner for a new class of drug developed by researchers at the Institut Curie in Paris...
by James Brooks
The emergence and spread of MRSA in the UK has been tracked thanks to genetic analysis of samples taken from infected patients over a 53-year period. The study, published in the journal PNAS, suggests that hospitals in large cities act as breeding grounds for new, increasingly resistant MRSA variants...
by James Brooks
A gene which helps sperm bind to an egg has been identified by scientists. Sperm-to-egg binding is an essential process during fertilisation and although the preliminary studies were performed on mice, the gene may represent a new target for infertility treatments...
by James Brooks
Genetic mutations that occur spontaneously in sperm and egg cells may increase a child's risk of autism, say scientists...
by James Brooks
Newspapers overcook mediocre science all the time. You know this, I know this. All the same, a story in the Sunday Times a couple of weeks ago deserves special mention for its utterly uncritical reporting...
by James Brooks
The Court of Appeal in Rennes, France, has upheld an earlier decision to accord civil status — similar to nationality — to twins carried by a surrogate mother in India for a French couple...
BioNews, published by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), provides news and comment on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas.