No spitting or you'll give your age away
A saliva sample can determine a person’s age to within five years, according to research published in the journal PLoS One...
News
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Native American tribe uses DNA to settle casino dispute
The Chukchansi Indian tribe in California, USA, will this month vote on whether DNA testing should be used to determine who is entitled to tribe membership....
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Researchers find gene linked to rare heart condition in pregnancy
A genetic mutation has been associated with a rare and potentially serious heart condition called peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) that can affect woman before, during or shortly after childbirth. Researchers say the findings could lead to the development of diagnostic tests for PPCM....
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Do humans carry a gene for detecting the Earth's magnetism?
Humans may retain a diminished ability to see the Earth's magnetic field, claims a new American study. Experiments were carried out to investigate the function of light-sensitive proteins called cryptochromes, in the eyes of fruit flies and Monarch butterflies...
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
Stem cells, pigs and replacement organs
Scientists in Japan have reported the production of mice that have rat's organs. They suggest that one day this technique could be used to grow spare human organs in another species such as pigs, easing organ shortages and reducing long waiting times for transplants...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
New software successfully identifies rare disease gene
US scientists have been able to identify the gene responsible for an extremely rare X-linked genetic disorder in record time, using new computer software....
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Gene therapy used to cure blindness in monkeys
A group of US scientists has successfully used a virus to deliver genes into monkey retinas that could potentially restore damaged photoreceptor cells. The findings could lead to gene therapies being developed to treat blindness and other eye conditions in humans...
Reviews
Book Review: The Ethics of Consent and Choice in Prenatal Screening
In this ambitious text, Eleanor Milligan peels back the ethical layers surrounding prenatal screening. She reveals a world in which women choosing if they should undergo prenatal screening are heavily influenced by social considerations and often demonstrate a lack of understanding about the technique. By exploring the many ethical factors which influence a woman's decision to undergo prenatal screening, Milligan highlights how many women who partake do so without truly giving their ...
Comment
The birth of donor offspring rights in the USA?
by Professor Naomi Cahn and 1 others
The fertility industry in the US state of Washington will be transformed in late July 2011, when a new law to recognise rights of donor-conceived people comes into effect. Under the changes, anyone who provides gametes to a fertility clinic in the state must also provide identifying information about themselves and their medical history...
The contradictory place of race in biology
by Professor Catherine Nash
Over the last decade there has been an intense debate among social scientists, ethicists and, to an extent, scientists themselves over the degree to which new studies of human genetic variation, and their application in the development of drugs targeted at ethnic or racial groups, constitutes a revival of old racial categories...