Eye on DNA Links for 15 July 2007

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted July 15, 2007 in DNA and Genealogy, DNA and the Law, Eye on DNA Headlines, Jobs Involving DNA

• Gene Genie #11 is up at Med Journal Watch all the way from Switzerland. Now that’s more exotic to me than any island in the Pacific.
• New Scientist reports that cellphones are a great source of DNA and have become instrumental pieces of evidence in criminal investigations; loose cheek cells land in the microphone from the user’s breath and skin flakes get lodged in the button recesses and earpiece.
• Collecting DNA is separate from actually analyzing it. Thousands of crime scene evidence samples in Massachusetts dating back to 1989 have never been processed.
• The lack of resources is not only confined to forensic DNA analysis. Biotech and pharmaceutical companies can’t find enough quality employees to hire within the US. Three types of scientists are needed: “It needs biologists to make basic discoveries. It needs people who can take discoveries to a precommercial stage by proving the concept. It needs people who design and execute clinical trials. Above all, it needs graduates with skills in common-sense business practices, like teamwork.”
• The Predictive Health Ethics Research (PredictER) blog from the Indiana University Center for Bioethics is a great source of information on genetics, bioethics, and policy.
• Genetic genealogy in the US hits the news in the UK where the Observer has an excellent overview piece – The genes that built America: Piecing together the DNA jigsaw.

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, genomics, genome, biotech, biotechnology, jobs, career, health, genetic genealogy

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