Eye on DNA Headlines for 22 April 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted April 22, 2008 in DNA Around the World, DNA Testing, DNA and the Law

• Rick at My Biotech Life hosts Gene Genie : the better late than never personal genomics special edition.
• Please welcome Pamela Ronald at Tomorrow’s Table to The DNA Network. She’s our 53rd member!
• Congratulations to Trisha on the relaunch of the Ideas for Women blog.
• Molecular biologists are in the movies. Peggy at Biology in Science Fiction looks at Splice starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley scheduled for release in 2009.
• Auckland University professor Andrew Shelling says personal genomics companies are offering “health horoscopes.” On the other hand, he admits that access to genetic testing in New Zealand is very limited.

  “New Zealand is doing an appalling job of providing adequate genetic testing. We’re well behind Australia and the rest of the world.”
  
  So what’s an info-seeking person to do?

• Here’s a genetic genealogy quagmire. DNA testing of children from the polygamist religious group in West Texas to sort our* out family relationships has commenced. Problem is, many of the children are closely related and have parents who are genetically related as well.

  Because of the group’s isolation, Dr. Einum said he thought it was likely that the parents of any given child were related by a common ancestor, and that any man examined as a possible father could share genetic traits with many other men in the group.

*No, I’m not affiliated with the FLDS.

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Comment by Trisha

2008-04-22 16:17:24

Thank you by Hsien!

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