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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: genetic testing

genetic testing stories: 30 news summaries

1 - 20 of 30 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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Want to Save Dad? Insurance Won't Let You

And Congress fatcats need to overhaul this 'disgrace' now: Kristof

Oct 4, 09 11:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - So dear old dad desperately needs a kidney, and the docs say you're the best fit. Tough luck, writes Nicholas Kristof in a look at the case of David Waddington, whose two sons can't donate—because pre-donation screening might reveal to insurance companies that they have the same genetic condition... More »

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health insurance • genetic testing • health care reform • kidney disease • Nicholas Kristof • pre-existing condition

 Genius, Madness 
 Linked to Gene 

Study links creativity to gene associated with mental illness

Sep 30, 09 3:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The reason why many creative people like Vincent Van Gogh show self-destructive tendencies is in the genes, researchers have discovered. Scientists in a new study found that volunteers identified as the most creative also had the highest levels of a gene variant associated with psychosis and depression, the Daily Telegraph... More »

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depression • schizophrenia • genetic testing • mental illness • creativity

 Paris Keeps 
 Cut Hair to 
 Dodge DNA 
 Testing 

Jackson's daughter gets haircut during retail therapy trip with grandmother

Sep 1, 09 8:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - The hair snipped from Paris Jackson's head last week won't be falling into the hands of the genetic paparazzi. The Las Vegas salon that cut the 11-year-old's hair carefully swept up, bagged, and handed over every last strand, apparently to stop potential thieves from running a DNA test on the... More »

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genetic testing • DNA • Michael Jackson • paternity test • Paris Jackson

OPINION

 Is She a Man? 
 Is Phelps a Fish? 


Aug 21, 09 8:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's wrong to be subjecting South African sprinter Caster Semenya to "a public slaying," writes Antonia Senior, who says that debating her gender has no more credibility than asking if "Michael Phelps is really a fish." For the Times of London columnist, sports are now "... More »

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gender • Michael Phelps • genetics • genetic testing • athletics • IAAF • genetic abnormalities • Caster Semenya

(Newser) - Major League Baseball's DNA testing of Latin American rookies has bioethics experts worried, the New York Times reports. League officials say the genetic tests are necessary after a string of cases in which prospects lied about their age or identity, but experts fear the tests may be used to weed... More »

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MLB • genetic testing • DNA • bioethics • baseball

DNA Tests Solve Man's 26-Year Search for His Dad

Testing helped adopted man discover his birth father through his surname

May 2, 09 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Michigan man's decades-long search for his biological father was fulfilled with an assist from DNA-based genealogy tests, the Wall Street Journal reports. Richard Hill—who didn't know he was adopted until his adoptive father revealed the truth from his deathbed—discovered his birth mother's identity fairly easily but hit... More »

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adoption • genetic testing • DNA • family • genealogy

Safer Down Syndrome Tests Give Birth to Ethics Fears

Procedures look safer, more accurate, but raise ethics concerns

Feb 24, 09 11:23 AM CST
(Newser) - New tests to detect Down syndrome early in pregnancy look highly promising to some experts—but they’re prompting new ethical and medical questions, the Washington Post reports. The procedures, to be publicly available in June, appear safer and more accurate than current options. But Down syndrome and anti-abortion activists... More »

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abortion • genetic testing • prenatal care • medical ethics • Down Syndrome

Screening Technique Improves In Vitro Odds

Scientists can now safely analyze eggs' chances of conception

Jan 27, 09 5:36 PM CST
(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a way to greatly increase the chance of success for in vitro fertilizations, Time reports. Under current procedures, fresh eggs yield only a 25% success rate, necessitating multiple—and expensive—attempts. Many eggs hold chromosomal defects that make them incapable of conception, but it has, until now,... More »

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pregnancy • sperm • in vitro fertilization • genetic testing • conception • genes • egg

Who's Your Daddy? DNA Tests May Shock You

DNA tests can lead to unpleasant discoveries

Jan 18, 09 4:34 PM CST
(Newser) - A simple DNA test is enough to rend a family apart, the Los Angeles Times reports. As more people take genetic tests to uncover medical data or trace family roots, more are discovering that their biological father is someone else. It's an old issue in medicine—blood types, after all,... More »

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ethics • genetic testing • genetic disorders • ancestry • paternity

Is Your Kid a Sprinter or Footballer? Gene Test Knows

But experts cite scientific, ethical flaws

Nov 30, 08 10:48 AM CST
(Newser) - The answer to whether a kid would make a better linebacker or long-distance runner might lie in a simple genetic test—but many experts worry it could lead parents in the wrong direction, the New York Times reports. Based on a study that pointed to one gene’s role in... More »

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sports • parenting • genetics • genetic testing • children

Baldness Gene Can Pass From Father to Son

Think your mom's dad's lush locks mean your 'do is safe? Maybe not.

Oct 13, 08 11:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - The old idea that looking at the maternal grandfather's hairline to predict whether a man will go bald is about half right, genetic researchers have found. The female X chromosome carries one baldness gene, but two studies have identified another gene that can be inherited from Dad. Guys with both... More »

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genetic testing • baldness • hair loss • genetic research

 Sensitive Swiss
 Ban Plant Humiliation 

Genetic research must not violate the dignity of wheat

Oct 10, 08 5:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Swiss scientists eager to carry out genetic experiments on plants can’t be rash—they must first consider the how their actions make that tulip feel. Government-backed ethicists studied the effects of such experimentation on plants’ dignity; they found that it was wrong to hurt plants for no reason, or... More »

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ethics • genetic testing • genetic modification • Switzerland • plants • genetic research

New Prenatal Gene Test Proves Safer

Checks mom's blood for defects without miscarriage risk

Oct 7, 08 3:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have developed a prenatal test for genetic defects much safer than the ones currently in use, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Methods like amniocentesis can spot chromosomal disorders like Down Syndrome, but involve inserting a needle into the uterus, which carries close to a 1-in-200 risk of miscarriage.... More »

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pregnancy • genetic testing • DNA • prenatal care • miscarriage • chromosomal disorders • genetic defects • Down Syndrome

 FDA OKs High-Speed Flu Test 

Technique will ID new strains in crucial early warning system

Oct 1, 08 1:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new genetic test for the flu virus, which slashes the time it takes to identify new strains from 4 days to 4 hours, has been approved by the FDA. The test will play a key role in an early warning system if the US is ever struck by a... More »

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FDA • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • genetic testing • avian flu • flu • Applied Biosystems Inc • Association of Public Health Laboratories

NY Sushi Sleuths Uncover Fishy Tricks

Simple DNA test reveals fish sellers' bait-and-switch

Aug 22, 08 3:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two New York City high school students used DNA testing to uncover a bait-and-switch scam in local restaurants and fish markets, the New York Times reports. Fish being sold as prized white tuna turned out to be the much more common—and cheaper—Mozambique tilapia, while red snapper proved to... More »

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genetic testing • DNA • fish • restaurant • genetic code • DNA database • sushi

FBI Tries to Dispel Anthrax Probe Doubts

But acknowledges 'spore on a grassy knoll' sentiment

Aug 19, 08 7:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI revealed unprecedented details about its investigation of army scientist Bruce Ivins yesterday in a move to counter skepticism in the scientific community. The agency laid out how it brought together top scientists from the public and private sector to trace samples of the deadly anthrax of 2001 to... More »

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FBI • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • genetic testing • Department of Defense • anthrax • National Institutes of Health • Bruce Ivins

Gene Test
May Rewrite Breast Cancer Screening

Mouth swab will offer more precise measure

Jun 25, 08 7:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists say they will soon be able to take a simple mouth swab from women to better determine their risk of breast cancer, the Guardian reports. Researchers at Cambridge University have zeroed in on several genetic variants—with more to come—that offer a far more precise measure of a... More »

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cancer • medical breakthrough • breast cancer • women's health • genetic testing

Genetic Test
Reveals Your
Body Clock

Simple mouth swab
can separate the
larks from the owls

Jun 7, 08 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A simple mouth swab can tell scientists who's naturally meant to get up early and could forever free people who like a morning snooze from accusations of laziness, the Daily Telegraph reports. The newly developed test reveals the activity of the genes that regulate a person's body clock and identifies... More »

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sleep • genetic testing • sleep disorder • circadian rhythms • internal clock

Genes ID Best Patients for Colon Cancer Drug

Step toward 'holy grail' of personalized cancer battle

Jun 2, 08 2:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Researchers have taken a giant step toward the "holy grail" of personalized cancer treatment—by using genetic profiling to accurately target chemotherapy, Reuters reports. A new genetic test of colon cancer tumors is able to predict with accuracy whether a patient will respond to treatment with the drug Erbitux,... More »

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genetic testing • colon cancer • colorectal cancer • antibodies • genome • Avastin • American Society of Clinical Oncology • ImClone • Erbitux • genotype

Soccer Scouts
Look Into Genetic Testing

DNA tests could reveal if player has power to bend it like Beckham

Apr 26, 08 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scouts for the world's leading soccer teams spend millions every year trying to spot the next Ronaldo or David Beckham but they could soon be turning their attention to genetic tests as well as training grounds. DNA tests that identify genes associated with top athletic ability are already being marketed... More »

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genetic testing • genetic screening • soccer • David Beckham • Football Association • sports technology

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