The UK government quizzed insurance companies over their use of genetic test results last week. The House of Commons Science and Technology committee met with representatives from Norwich Union, Co-operative Insurance and the Prudential. MPs have expressed concerns that insurers are using test results without the approval of the government's...
The two scientific teams who jointly announced the completion of the first draft of the entire human genetic code last June will publish their results this week. The international consortium's version will appear in Nature this Thursday, while that of US company Celera Genomics will be published in rival journal...
Most scientists believe that the public needs to know about the social and ethical implications of scientific research, according to a new study by the Wellcome Trust published last week. The survey was carried out by market research firm MORI, who interviewed more than 1600 UK scientists about their attitudes...
A lack of folic acid in the diet could be responsible for some cases of male infertility, according to new research presented at a conference in Lyons last week. Professor Bruce Ames of the University of California told delegates at the World Life Sciences Forum that sperm counts in rats...
The decoding of the human genetic code will lead to new predictive tests for common diseases by 2010, drug prescriptions tailored to a person's genetic make-up by 2020 and an average lifespan of 90 years by 2030. These were the predictions made by Dr Francis Collins, director of the US...
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Size doesn't matter
by Juliet Tizzard
So the human genome turns out to consist of just 30,000 genes (or thereabouts). But does it matter? Apparently so. Running the genome sequence story on Sunday à a day ahead of the press conferences around the world à the UK's Observer newspaper told its readers that 'having fewer genes is good...