Eye on DNA Headlines for 2 October 2007

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted October 2, 2007 in DNA and Genealogy, DNA and the Law, Eye on DNA Headlines

• A Dr. Seussian Grand Rounds is up at Musings of a Distractible Mind. Well adone, Dr. Rob!
• DNA Network member David Hamilton at Venture Beat Life Sciences examines Complete Genomics and BioNanomatrix, companies that propose to sequence the entire human genome quickly and cheaply.
• Economics was not my strongest subject in school and managing money is still one of my least favorite tasks. Based on a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, my personal economic choices and preferences may be due to “substantial” genetic influence.
• Personalized medicine applied to the antidepressant drug Celexa is on the horizon. Two genetic markers–GRIK2 and GRIA3–have been identified which increases the risk of suicidal thoughts in people taking the drug. NeuroMark is already offering a genetic test for the two genes plus another two, which will be available next Monday, October 8 for $500.
• DNA exonerations will mostly like increase as states are enacting new legislation to give inmates greater access to DNA evidence.
• Genetic genealogist Bryan Sykes has set his sights on Russians with the surname Lermontov to see if they are descended from George Learmonth, a Scottish adventurer.
• The 2nd Annual Blogging Scholarship Award is worth $10,000 this year. The scholarship is open to bloggers who are currently attending post-secondary education in the US. Last year, ScienceBlogger Shelley Batts of Retrospectacle was the $1,000 runner-up. Application deadline is October 6, 2007.

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, science, celexa, dna exoneration, crime, scholarship, bryan sykes

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