Eye on DNA Headlines for 22 February 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted February 22, 2008 in DNA Testing, Eye on DNA Headlines

• The genetic testing market is getting so crowded I’ll have to start elbowing people aside. Genetic genealogy company Family Tree DNA has launched DNATraits which “specializes in DNA testing to identify genetic disorders and susceptibility to inherited diseases and characteristics.” Blaine at The Genetic Genealogist and Daniel at Genetic Future have more on this new launch. (NB: I work for competitor DNA Direct.)
• Welcome to the 47th member of The DNA Network - Dr. Simon Lin of Retail Genomics.
• Three interesting genetics websites to check out: Check Your Genes, Responsible Genetic Testing, and YourGenome.org. Check Your Genes focuses on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic testing for people with a significant family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. (HT: Derek) Responsible Genetic Testing focuses on direct-to-consumer advertising for genetic testing. YourGenome.org is from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and is a genetics 101 website good for basic info. (HT: Thomas)
• While NBC Nightly News ran their series on DNA, ABC’s Nightline did their own piece on 23andMe - Cracking the Genetic Code.
• Webcasts are now available from the Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society met in Washington on February 12-13, 2008 to discuss genetic testing. Excerpt from Pharmacogenomics Reporter (does anyone have access and can email me their article?):
  
  The HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Genetics, Health, and Society said that a “mandatory, publicly available, web-based registry … would offer the best approach to address the information gaps” regarding lab-developed genetic tests. But it stressed that “unresolved issues, including practical and legal questions,” must be answered before the government can decide “how and where to implement the registry.”

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