Eye on DNA Headlines for 5 October 2007

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted October 5, 2007 in DNA and the Law, Eye on DNA Headlines

• Dr. Jane Chin has just published 5 Lessons in PhD Career Transitions. It’s an excellent resource with practical information on work for PhD’s outside of academia and research. Jane has also included some exercises to help readers organize their thoughts and desires. Thanks also to Jane for including my profile! You can order 5 Lessons in PhD Career Transitions for $29.99 plus shipping and handling. There’s also more information at the PhD Career Clinic site.
• Dr. Barry Starr at the QUEST Community Science Blog looks at athletes and gene doping. Here’s my take on the situation – Athletes and Their DNA.
• Anonymous Coward found a poster on the Tokyo subway advertising Natural DNA Collagen, a health drink. I found it for sale at Rakuten – about $300 USD for four 720 ml bottles. What a bargain! Ingredients: Collagen, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Hyaloronic Acid, Chondroitin Acid, Zinc, Salmon Sperm. This last ingredient must be where the DNA comes from….
• Dr. Kristina Chew at Autism Vox has been on a roll about genetics lately including these posts: What do you know about genetics? and Language Genetics: Knots and Finches.
• Africans are accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of racism over a law asking immigrants to provide DNA evidence that their relatives are biologically related to them. As I mentioned before, this practice has been in place for years in the United States.
  
  Sengalese President Abdoulaye Wade:

  The practice of DNA testing is a violation of individual freedom, an attack on a person’s physical integrity and not even certain to be free from error.

  With this attitude towards DNA testing, it’s no wonder that countries like South Africa are still struggling to establish DNA testing even for forensics purposes.

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, france, immigration

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2007-10-18 13:50:10

[...] photo of a protest in France on October 13, 2007 against DNA testing of immigrants is from François Bouchet’s flickr album. The sign this man is wearing translates to [...]

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