Do DNA patents spur science or stifle it? Both

Lawyers who work on patents in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are sweating bullets today. It is not a bad thing when patent lawyers are feeling queasy.

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Missing DNA chunks tied to schizophrenia risk

Two huge international studies show that people who lack certain chunks of DNA run a dramatically higher risk of getting schizophrenia, a finding that could help open new doors to understanding and diagnosing the disease.

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Study Seeks DNA Clues on Homosexuality

Julio and Mauricio Cabrera are gay brothers who are convinced their sexual orientation is as deeply rooted as their Mexican ancestry. They are among 1,000 pairs of gay brothers taking part in the largest study to date seeking genes that may influence whether people are gay.

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Sibling link to brain tumour risk revealed

People with many younger siblings are more likely to develop brain tumours, according to a new study. Those with four or more siblings have twice the risk of brain cancer compared to only-children, the study found.

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Sneaky DNA analysis to be outlawed

Genetic trophy hunters, beware. From Friday next week it will be illegal in the UK to covertly analyse someone's DNA. The Human Genetics Commission (HGC), which advises the UK government, says that such an act constitutes a "gross intrusion" on their privacy.

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Police officers are now routinely arresting people in order to add their DNA sample to the national police database, an inquiry will allege tomorrow.

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According to a recent GENETICS study, a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes) are responsible for production of ethylene and since this gas affects many aspects of plant development, it could lay the foundation for future genetic manipulation  …

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Two articles: Genetically modified food for thought

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Twenty years after the brutal rape and murder of a Newcastle schoolgirl, there are claims more advanced DNA technology could have changed the outcome of the case.

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A man has been jailed by the District Court in Adelaide for at least seven years for a violent rape and home invasion more than two decades ago.

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Five years after discovering some of the strangest creatures in the world — mouthless worms that live in the bones of dead whales — scientists have taken a peek into their genes. Though not complete, the glimpse shows these creatures to be far more complicated than was known.

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NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, a key component of our hereditary material, in the laboratory.

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"An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the domestic horse..." -Science Daily

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An ambitious plan to map the genomes of 10,000 vertebrates has been unveiled, which could change the way we treat disease, protect ecosystems and understand human development.

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Bridging a rarely-crossed border between natural and social sciences, the study looks at the interplay across 29 countries of two sets of data, one genetic and the other cultural.

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Gene therapy can be particularly effective in treating inherited sight problems in children, fresh trials show.

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Modern humans and Neanderthals had sex across the species barrier, according to a leading geneticist who is overseeing a project to compare their genomes.

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"Pope Benedict XVI has named two prominent U.S. geneticists as members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Edward M. De Robertis, a professor of biological..."

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"We are more different genetically from people living 5,000 years ago than they were different from Neanderthals."

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A UK study has found that a woman suffering from cancer during pregnancy can pass the disease on to her unborn child.

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Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified genes which may influence the onset age of Parkinson's Disease (PD).

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View of Children Diminished

The United Kingdoms ministry of health recently released current findings as disclosed by the BBC news service this week of epidemic proportions in troubled eyesight of children.The news service has stated the number of children with abnormal sight difficulties has rizen to epide …

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Scientists have discovered a number of genes linked to the loss of bone mineral density and osteoporosis.

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IN 2003, while geneticist Svante Pääbo was visiting Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city, he decided to look in on a famous experiment run by the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, which is based in the city.

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Honey bees are now fighting back aggressively against Varroa mites, thanks to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) efforts to develop bees with a genetic trait that allows them to more easily find the mites and toss them out of the broodnest.

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"Three U.S. researchers were awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on how chromosomes are protected against degradation, the Nobel Foundation announced Monday."

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This year's Nobel prize for medicine goes to the three US researchers who discovered how the body protects the chromosomes housing vital genetic code.

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Funding for the project amounts to $4.5 million. The project will sequence the genomes of at least 85 people diagnosed with Autism. The research will attempt to find a genetic basis for some caes of Autism.

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Home Office experiments with various DNA and isotope tests to try and "prove" an individual's nationality are a bogus use of bogus science, scientists have said.

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Now it is possible to tell from just one drop of saliva what path your ancestors took as they migrated from Africa – and population geneticist Dr Jim Wilson is keen to tell you.

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