Eye on DNA Headlines for 30 April 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted April 30, 2008 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• Scienceblogs Gene Expression hosts Gene Genie #30.
• Thank you to the Missouri State Genealogical Association (MoSGA) Messenger for sharing Eye on DNA with its readers!
• DNA inspires not just scientists but artists too. Check out Digital 3d Art created by a “quantum theoretician involved in studying life at a molecular particle level.”
• Are we in for another Myriad genetic test ad uproar? Identigene (more from Eye on DNA), sellers of over-the-counter paternity tests, have hired STG Media Corp to create TV, print, and radio ads that will “not only inform consumers that the product is out there, but that will also demonstrate that the product actually works.”
• A “major television network” (I can vouch for their authenticity) is looking for people to interview. Here’s what they sent me:

  For an upcoming series on genetic testing, a major television network would like to interview a person who has ordered an online gene test to assess their future risk of getting certain diseases. Twelve complaints have been filed with the california Dept of Health and the New York State Dept of Health has sent letters explaining the legal ramifications of testing New York residents without the proper clinical laboratory permit. Most of these complaints are anonymous. Would anyone speak on-camera to their issues and share their personal experience ordering one of these tests and getting the results? Please call 917 991 3689 or write to Theodora12@gmail.com.

(>> Start a discussion!)

Eye on DNA Headlines for 15 April 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted April 15, 2008 in DNA Testing, Eye on DNA Headlines

• Please welcome The Skeptical Alchemist and Think Gene to The DNA Network. They are the Network’s 51st and 52nd members!
• Andrew Meyer of Buzzyeah has been going through his 23andMe results and was also featured in this week’s Newsweek article - May We Scan Your Genome?
• DNATraits is offering a discount on their Ashkenazi Jews Genetic Disease Package in celebration of Passover this month. (HT: Tracing the Tribe)
• DNA Direct* has partnered with Navigenics to offer their members further medical diagnostic tests for specific medical conditions.
• Tickets are now on sale for Xconomy Forum: Boston Life Sciences 2028 scheduled for April 29 from 6:00 - 8:30 pm at Harvard Medical School. Nobel Prize-winning MIT biologist Phil Sharp, Flagship Ventures managing partner and CEO Noubar Afeyan, and Raju Kucherlapati, scientific director, Harvard Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics, and professor of genetics and medicine, Harvard Medical School, will be leading the discussion.

*I work with DNA Direct as a genetic information specialist.

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Eye on DNA Headlines for 11 April 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted April 11, 2008 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• The MIT/Stanford Venture Lab (VLAB) will be hosting DNA for Dollars: Featuring 23andMe, Kleiner Perkins, MDV, and more at Stanford Business School on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 6:00 pm.
• The DNA Network Custom Search Engine has been updated and now includes all 50 member sites.
• Congratulations to New York Times reporter Amy Harmon on her Pulitzer Prize for The DNA Age series of articles on “the impact of genetic technology on American life.”
• Congratulations also to TR Gregory at Genomicron on his one-year blogging anniversary!
• Lee Lofland, author of Police Procedure and Investigation, A Guide for Writers shares Things Writers Should Know about DNA. I just have on nitpicky point about the DNA fact that “identical twins have identical DNA”…erm, not quite .
• Health Content Advisors discusses the role of genetic counselors as healthcare intermediaries.

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Eye on DNA Headlines for 7 April 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted April 7, 2008 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• Thanks to Alltop for adding Eye on DNA and The DNA Network to their science page!
• The DNA Network welcomes its 50th member - Aminopop!
• Greg Laden hosts the latest issue of Gene Genie #24.
• Check out the Science in Fiction Project where readers can get together to share the books they’ve read that incorporate science. For those specifically interested in biology, Peggy writes Biology in Science Fiction which is also a great resource.
• Schelly Talalay Dardashti has a new article in the Jerusalem Post - When oral history meets genetics. Don’t miss the sidebar - Screening for Jewish genetic diseases.
• For more on genetic genealogy, see this past weekend’s Baltimore Sun article - In genes and online, a path to ancestry.

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Eye on DNA Headlines for 28 March 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted March 28, 2008 in DNA Testing, Eye on DNA Headlines, Jobs Involving DNA

• Thanks to Keith Robison of Omics! Omics! for mentioning The DNA Network in his article about science blogging for the March 2008 issue Genome Technology. And a belated thanks to Genome Technology for including Eye on DNA in the February 2008 Blogosphere Briefs. (Sorry, subscription only.)
• The Genetics and Public Policy Center has compiled a table listing services offered by 32 direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies (pdf).
• After a successful test launch in California, Oregon and Washington, Identigene has now introduced their over-the-counter paternity test nationwide. MSNBC quotes a satisfied customer whose son learned that he was not the father of a little boy who he’d been supporting:

  “He just didn’t look like my son at all,” [Wendy] Lieb said. “And we have fairly strong genes.”

  Ahh, yes. Those “strong genes” will tell you the truth every time.

• Schelly Talalay Dardashti at Tracing the Tribe points to an article in Reform Judaism on DNA research and Jewish ancestry. Former Eye on DNA guest author, Jon Entine, was interviewed.
• DNA Direct is now hiring! They’re looking for a Clinical Services Coordinator, Senior Software Developer, and Experienced Web Developer. (Yes, I work with DNA Direct.)

(>> Start a discussion!)

Eye on DNA Headlines for 23 March 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted March 23, 2008 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• Personal genomics companies Navigenics and 23andMe will be at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Cool Product Expo 2008 on April 9, 2008 from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free, no registration required.
• Lisa at DNA Direct Talk hosts Gene Genie: Yes, But What About Me?
• Congratulations to Dr. Steven Murphy on his one year anniversary at Gene Sherpas. The genetics blogosphere would certainly be duller without him around!
• Recently deceased science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s DNA is going to outer space. Alan Boyle at Cosmic Log says Clarke’s DNA was part of a suborbital flight last year and the capsule containing a sample of his hair will be sent to the moon on a Google Lunar X Prize flight and perhaps even further into deep space.
• Please welcome Gene Expression and Scienceblogs Gene Expression to The DNA Network!
• Genetics/Genomics is the theme for the March 19, 2008 issue of JAMA. Many of the papers focus on gene-disease associations with Special Communications articles, such as How to Interpret a Genome-wide Association Study, and Commentaries including The Genome Gets Personal–Almost and Genomic Profiles for Disease Risk: Predictive or Premature?

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Eye on DNA Headlines for 10 March 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted March 10, 2008 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• What’s the forecast for the personal genomics market? Here are some reactions to my post expounding on deCODE’s recent layoffs:

  *IEEE Spectrum Tech Talk - Gloomy genetics company casts cloud over personal genomics prospects
  *Genetic Future - deCODE’s lay-offs: market saturation, or just one struggling company?
  *Gene Expression - Personal Genomics Downswing

• David Bradley at Sciencebase hosted genetics blog carnival Gene Genie last week and Walter Jessen at Highlight HEALTH hosted Cancer Research Carnival #7.
• Peggy lists the winners of the 2008 L’OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards all of whom employ genetics and biochemistry in their research: Dr. Lihadh Al-Gazali, Dr. V. Narry Kim, Dr. Ada Yonath, Dr. Ana Belén Elgoyhen, and Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn.
• Looking for more science podcasts? Check out Distillations from the Chemical Heritage Foundation. It’s making chemistry interesting even for a chemistry flunkie like me!
• Genetic engineering is one of the seven new deadly sins!

  Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary:

  You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbour’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos.
  
  I guess it’s a good thing I’m a heathen?!

  Update: Don’t miss my additional list of 7 deadly sins of genetics.

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Eye on DNA Headlines for 28 February 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted February 28, 2008 in Eye on DNA Headlines

• Thanks to Berci at ScienceRoll for hosting Grand Rounds 4.22: The Future of Medicine.
• Congratulations to Dr. Jonathan Eisen at The Tree of Life! He’s the new Academic Editor in Chief of PLoS Biology.
• Congratulations also to my employer, DNA Direct . The company has closed $7 million in Series B financing. More from DNA Direct’s official blog. (Press release below the fold.)
• The Johns Hopkins Genetics and Public Policy Center (GPPC) is holding a series of public town hall meetings to gather opinions on biobanks for the effects of studying genetic and environmental factors on health. Register to attend at http://www.dnapolicy.org.

  *March 8 - Kansas City, MO
  *April 5 - Phoenix, AZ
  *April 19 - Jackson, MS
  *April 24 - Portland, OR
  *May 13 - Philadelphia, PA

• Kevin Kelly at The Quantified Self has some interesting insights into studying our own genomes in Wiki Your Genes.

  If a third-party vendor were to start selling the naked chip’s data for a small fee above its costs, it would be possible to do a large personal sequence using one of these tests and managing your data using open-source wiki technology like SNPedia. Hard-core recreational genomist could probably do a better job than either 23andMe or Decode are doing right now.

  Could you be a hardcore recreational genomist?

Continue reading…

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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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Eye on DNA Headlines for 15 February 2008

by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei
Posted February 15, 2008 in DNA Testing, DNA and Genealogy, Eye on DNA Headlines

• The Teaching Company sells a 24-lecture intro to genetics course, Understanding Genetics: DNA, Genes, and Their Real World Applications, taught by Dr. David Sadava of The Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges. After watching a preview, I can say that it’s not much more interesting than the lectures I sat through in college but for people who learn better by listening and watching, rather than reading, it may be valuable. (HT: GENEALOGY-DNA)
• Please welcome the latest members of The DNA Network. We now number 46!

  *Next Generation Sequencing from CLC bio
  *Mailund on the Internet
  *Buzzyeah
  *FinchTalk
  *Genetic Future
  *PredictER

• Gotta have this squishy, squashy, lumpy light-up DNA ball from HearthSong! (HT: Kristina)
• An oldie but funny on genetic genealogy from one of my favorite writers at the New York Times - Michelle Slatalla.

  Marie Antoinette, Is That You?

• Mary Beth Faller of The Arizona Republic asks: Is a gene test right for you? It’s got a negative slant to it (of course) but the right sidebar has some good basic information on DNA testing.

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