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NEWS ABOUT: human genome

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For Just $1K, You'll Soon Be Able to Map Your Genes

Genomics company unveiling new machine today

(Newser) - Want to map your genes, but don't have the $3,000 the cheapest sequencing currently costs? By the end of the year, you could be in luck: California genomics company Life Technologies Corp. will introduce a machine today that, by year's end, is expected to be able to... More »

How Much Caveman DNA Do You Have?

Company scours genome for Neanderthal heritage

(Newser) - If you've ever wondered whether your boorish ex or oafish boss may be closely related to our caveman ancestors, you can now officially prove it with a genetic test. Genome-mapping company 23andMe is offering "The Neanderthal Test" this holiday season. Simply submit your saliva and you can find... More »

Sex With Neanderthals Boosted Our Immunity

Scientists make 'stunning' discovery in genome comparison

(Newser) - Three years ago, scientists thought humans had never had sex with Neanderthals. Last year, they changed their tune—and now it looks like DNA passed down from Neanderthals has had a “profound impact” on our immune systems. Scientists compared a section of the modern human genome to the same... More »

Scientists to Pentagon: Map Every Soldier's Genome

Report prompts fears over flaws in process, discrimination

(Newser) - A secretive group of top scientists is pushing the Pentagon to map the genomes of all military personnel, the Huffington Post reports. Such mapping could reveal information about troops' "responses to battlefield stress"—for example, how well they can tolerate "sleep deprivation, dehydration, or prolonged exposure to... More »

Scientists Zero In on Genetic Clues to Anorexia

Markers linked to autism show up in eating-disorder patients

(Newser) - Researchers have found a set of genetic alterations linked to the development of anorexia, LiveScience reports. The eating disorder had previously been thought to be highly heritable, but specific genetic markers hadn't been identified. If more are found, people at risk for the disorder could be identified early. More »

'Zombie' DNA Can Wake Up, Cause Disease

Long-inactive gene triggers form of muscular dystrophy

(Newser) - Geneticists have found the culprit causing a common form of muscular dystrophy—zombie DNA. Sort of. They've discovered that long-inactive genes—so-called junk DNA lying dormant in the human genome for thousands of years—"can rise from the dead like zombies" and cause trouble, explains Gina Kolata in the... More »

Scientist to Map Ozzy's DNA

Geneticists will study rock star as drug abuse test case

(Newser) - Scientists looking to analyze how recreational drugs are absorbed into the body have found the ideal subject: Ozzy Osbourne. Taking advantage of the fact that Ozzy abused drugs and alcohol for years, the US-based genetics company Knome is mapping the rocker's full genome, CBS News reports. "Sequencing and analyzing... More »

Don't Let Scientists Patent Synthetic Life

Genome pioneer argues for open access

(Newser) - Craig Venter's creation of the first synthetic life form is a milestone discovery but patenting it will hold back science, argues a British scientist who helped sequence the human genome. John Sulston—who clashed with Venter a decade ago when he sought to restrict access to genome information—tells the... More »

Author: Obama's Really 'White'

He's 'too powerful' to be 'black,' prof argues

(Newser) - President Obama is "really" a white person because of his background and power, according to a controversial new book. Despite the color of his skin, Obama is essentially "white" not because of his "white" mom, but due to his educational background, income, power, and status, eminent American... More »

Drugstores Will Sell Genetic Tests

Possibly illegal product reveals risk of disease

(Newser) - Soon, you may be able to pick up a genetic testing kit at your local drugstore. A San Diego company has made a deal to sell its new Insight test at Walgreens locations across the country, promising consumers a look at their risk for Alzheimer's, breast cancer, diabetes, and more.... More »

Genome Breakthrough Zeroes In on Disease

New approach decodes entire genomes of individual patients

(Newser) - Two teams of researchers have identified the exact genetic cause of their patients' rare diseases by sequencing their entire genomes, a sharp but promising departure of the previous application of genetics to disease. “I suspect that in the next few years human genetics will finally begin to systematically deliver... More »

Chinese Gene Mapping Links Dialects, Disease

Study of 8,200 Chinese from north and south shows .3% variation

(Newser) - A massive gene study of ethnic Chinese in the north and south of the country has revealed key divergences that correspond to dialect groups and could account for some hereditary diseases. The study of 8,200 people from 10 provinces and Singapore found significant variation in .3% of the genome,... More »

Get Your Genome Sequenced for Just $50K

New technology slashes test cost

(Newser) - Decoding the first full human genome cost billions, but a professor of bioengineering says he has done it for just $50,000 using technology he helped design, reports the San Francisco Business Times. Stephen Quake sequenced his genetic code using a team of just three people. Only last year, decoding... More »

Decoding of Genome Fails to Yield Promised Cures

(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 »

Genome Research Helps Develop ... Search Engine

DeepDyve may reach 99% of web Google & Co don't

(Newser) - Technology designed to sequence the human genome is now being turned to an equally daunting task: probing the depths of the web. DeepDyve, a search engine developed by Human Genome Project researchers, can base its search on up to 25,000 characters, Wired reports, which researchers say allows it to... More »

RNA: Secret Weapon Against Disease

Once seen as weak partner of DNA, gene helps control cells' activity

(Newser) - RNA has long been seen as DNA’s little brother, a messenger between the human genome and cells’ protein factories. But studies point to a bigger role—ribonucleic acid can “turn off” certain genes, for example, fighting a range of health problems, the New York Times reports. “This... More »

Genome Project Is a Bust: Expert

$3B effort to pinpoint disease-causing genes too broad, Duke doc says

(Newser) - The idea behind mapping the human genome (and spending $3 billion to do so) was to uncover common gene variants that cause disease. But a Duke University geneticist says that natural selection has worked better than we thought, that there are no common variants but rather a multitude of rare... More »

Broad Donates $400M for Gene Research

Record gift helps Harvard/MIT venture get to root of disease

(Newser) - Eli and Edythe Broad plan to donate $400 million more to the Massachusetts foundation they started 4 years ago to research the genetic causes of disease, the Boston Globe reports. “It's the biggest investment we've ever made,” said Broad, whose gift to the joint Harvard/MIT venture is the... More »

Top Ideas of Past Year

Atlantic Monthly runs down issues steered the national discourse in past year

(Newser) - Which ideas informed the national discourse (or lack thereof) in the past year? Well, the Atlantic Monthly knows, and there are 11 … er, 11½. From the troop surge in Iraq to post-partisan politics to the provocatively titled “mass-market atheism,” a look at some of the most captivating... More »

DNA Scientists Finally Clear Gender Barrier

After 5 male subjects, female genome sequenced for first time

(Newser) - Dutch scientists have sequenced the a female human genome, reports the AP. The first human genome was sequenced in 2001; since then, scientists have mapped four male individuals' DNA. "It was time, after sequencing four males, to balance the genders a bit," says the lead researcher. More »

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