Amazon Tribe Broods Over Poached Blood

Work in replication of chromosomes may aid cancer treatment

(NEWSER) - Three American scientists won the Nobel Prize for Medicine today for their work on the replication of chromosomes, which has implications for cancer, aging, and stem cell research. The laureates focused on a string of DNA at the end of chromosomes, called telomeres, and discovered an enzyme that allows dividing cells to copy the entire length of genetic material without degradation. Several clinical trials are investigating whether eliminating this enzyme might be useful in cancer treatment. More»

(NEWSER) - The promised age of unlocking the mystery of common diseases through DNA appears to have a hit a disappointing roadblock, the New York Times reports. As a result, companies that bill people to provide a personal genomic profile—and theoretically warn them of their risk to illness—are practicing nothing more than "recreational genomics," a geneticist tells the Times. “The information has little or in many cases no clinical relevance.” More»

Docs could eliminate half of drugs genetics prevent from working

(NEWSER) - The drugs you take may not actually be working. Experts say that, thanks to various genetic quirks, most drugs only work for about half the people who take them, meaning that much of the roughly $300 billion America spends on drugs each year is wasted. That’s why forward-looking doctors are fixated on the holy grail of “personalized medicine”—the idea of using genetic tests to ensure each patient gets the right drugs. More»

New home exam lets users swab cheeks, send away for info

(NEWSER) - A new British company has developed a home DNA test that determines whether customers are genetically predisposed to ailments such as breast cancer, heart disease, obesity, and osteoporosis. Users scrape a cheek with a swab, sign a special waiver if they want to know results even for incurable diseases, such as Alzheimer's, and send it off. The results come back in the mail. More»

Findings represent stunning medical breakthrough

(NEWSER) - Scientists have pinpointed two genes that may be linked to MS, signaling a breakthrough in the fight against the debilitating disease 20 years in the making. In separate studies published today by two medical journals, researchers revealed one specific gene receptor may trigger cells to inhibit the body's autoimmune reaction, the first ever genetic culprit in the crippling disorder. More»