Eye on DNA Headlines for 18 September 2007

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted September 18, 2007 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• Kerri Morrone at Six Until Me hosts Grand Rounds 3.52 where she browses the Stop & Blog.
• The DNA Network welcomes its 28th member – Steve Mount of On Genetics.
• DNA Direct has a new VP Clinical Affairs, Trisha Brown, and a new Clinical Director, Cynthia Kane. Read more about them in this press release (pdf). (By now you all know I work for them, right?)
• Nicholas Wade of The New York Times explores moral rules in Is “Do Unto Others” Written Into Our Genes? (HT: Tom Head) Lee Dye wrote a similar article in 2005–Are We Programmed for Kindness?–that mentioned Dr. Philippe Rushton of the University of Western Ontario who conducted a study of 174 pairs of identical twins and 148 pairs of fraternal twins. Results showed that genes account for 42 percent of individual difference in attitudes. But Stanford’s Paul Erlich disagreed:

  Genetic evolution did not determine most of how we act or provide us all with a pre-programmed “human nature.” There is no reason to believe that human beings are either innately violent or innately peaceful, instinctively disposed to wreck their environments or to be conservationists, or born genetically gay or genetically straight.

• Celera and Merck have teamed up to develop pharmacogenetic tests. Celera will take care of the gene expression assay side of things and Merck will develop diagnostic predictors based on the data for use in clinical trials and other therapeutic uses. (HT: Dr. Bill Koslosky)
• The OR7D4 gene has been linked to people’s perceptions of human body odor (B.O. in common parlance). Two variants of the OR7D4 gene exist; people with one variant thought androstenone–a testosterone-derived steroid found in human urine and sweat–smelled like “old cat pee” while the group with the other variant thought it smelled like “sweet vanilla.” Which group do you think you belong to?

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, celera, merck

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