Increased probability - compared to the general population - of developing a disease, due to the presence of one or more gene mutations.
During 2002, the issue of over the counter genetic susceptibility tests has been in and out of the news. Back in March, we reported on a campaign to stop one company selling genetic susceptibility tests through a high street chain of shops. Then over the summer, the government advisory group...
An international team of researchers has identified a genetic basis for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disease in which the immune system attacks its own body cells. The scientists, led by Dr Marta Alarcon-Riquelme at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, looked at the genetic make-up of more than 2500...
A new genetic testing machine, the 'size of a shoebox', could soon be available in doctor's surgeries and pharmacies, in order to test, using saliva, blood or urine, whether a person has a susceptibility to a particular illness or genetic condition. The portable machine could also be used by travellers...
Scientists from the Cancer Genome Project (CGP) at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, have discovered that a mutation in a single gene - called BRAF - is a common element in approximately 70 per cent of malignant skin cancers. The mutation is similar to another that is known to...
Scientists have discovered a gene mutation that can predispose carriers to one of the most common forms of epilepsy, bringing hope that new treatments for the disorder will be able to be developed. Canadian researchers discovered that the mutated gene, GABRA1, was present in eight members of a French-Canadian family...
The first baby screened for a genetic predisposition to cancer later in life has been born in America. Scientists from the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago announced the birth of the baby boy following IVF and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), on Thursday last week. Eighteen embryos were tested, and the...
UK researchers have carried out a study of 500 pairs of twins that suggests genetic factors are more important in triggering coronary heart disease than non-genetic factors such as diet and lifestyle. The study, carried out by scientists at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London, and Leeds University, was published...
The decision by the Genetics and Insurance Committee (GAIC) last week to approve the use of genetic test results for Huntington's disease in assessing life insurance applications re-ignited a public debate about the dark side of advances in genetic science. According to the Daily Mail, Britain now leads the world...
DNA chip technology is a growing industry that could revolutionise disease diagnosis. Current laboratory techniques for detecting genetic mutations responsible for disease are both time-consuming and expensive, whereas, a DNA chip - once developed - should only take minutes or, at most, hours to detect the gene mutations at the root of...
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