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New CRISPR Tools Can Cut, Splice Whole Chromosomes

September 3, 2019

The new tools will likely open the doors for scientists to explore many novel areas. With comments from our Alan Regenberg

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New CRISPR Tools Can Cut, Splice Whole Chromosomes

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019

The new tools will likely open the doors for scientists to explore many novel areas: create synthetic species that can produce molecules not made by natural organisms, write information into DNA for use as a storage device, and drive down the costs of medical research by making it easier to edit bacterial genomes on a larger scale.

However, using CRISPR to edit large sections of the human genome is unlikely to occur anytime soon, given the regulatory hurdles and ethical complications. After all, scientists aren’t fully aware of the consequences of making small edits to DNA, much less larger cuts.

“We don’t always fully understand the changes we’re making,” Alan Regenberg, a bioethicist at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, told Science News. “Even if we do make the changes we want to make, there’s still question about whether it will do what we want and not do things we don’t want.”

…continue reading ‘New CRISPR Tools Can Cut, Splice Whole Chromosomes’

Image: By Zephyris at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5971161

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Big Think

Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’

August 29, 2019

The largest study of same-sex sexual behavior finds the genetics are complicated, and social and environmental factors are also key

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Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’

Thursday, August 29th, 2019

How do genes influence our sexuality? The question has long been fraught with controversy.

An ambitious new study — the largest ever to analyze the genetics of same-sex sexual behavior — found that genetics does play a role, responsible for perhaps a third of the influence on whethersomeone has same-sex sex. The influence comes not from one gene but many, each with a tiny effect — and the rest of the explanation includes social or environmental factors — making it impossible to use genes to predict someone’s sexuality.

“I hope that the science can be used to educate people a little bit more about how natural and normal same-sex behavior is,” said Benjamin Neale, a geneticist at the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard and one of the lead researchers on the international team. “It’s written into our genes and it’s part of our environment. This is part of our species and it’s part of who we are.”

…continue reading ‘Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’’

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New York Times

Huge US Government Study to Offer Genetic Counselling

August 21, 2019

A firm hired by the National Institutes of Health will work with participants in a research programme that aims to sequence 1 million genomes

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Huge US Government Study to Offer Genetic Counselling

Wednesday, August 21st, 2019

A US government study that aims to sequence the genomes of 1 million volunteers will partner with a genetic-counselling company to help participants understand their results. It will be the largest US government study to provide such a service.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is leading the project — called All of Us — announced the US$4.6 million, five-year grant to the counselling and health technology company Color on 21 August.

The firm, in Burlingame, California, will counsel every participant with a genetic variant that could have serious health implications — such as the BRCA gene associated with breast cancer — when they receive their results. Color will also develop educational materials for all study participants, and will offer telephone consultations to any who wish to discuss their genetic test results with a counsellor.

…continue reading ‘Huge US Government Study to Offer Genetic Counselling’

Image via Flickr Some rights reserved by James Cridland

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Nature News

Is It Time to Regulate Biohacking?

August 13, 2019

California thinks so. A new law warns biohackers not to edit their genes at home

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Is It Time to Regulate Biohacking?

Tuesday, August 13th, 2019

California wants to make it clear that tinkering with your own genes is a “don’t try this at home” sort of thing.

The state is making it illegal to sell a do-it-yourself genetic engineering kit unless it comes with a clear warning stating that “the kit is not for self-administration.” This is a notable escalation of an effort to regulate biohacking, a movement that’s gotten people interested in hacking their genomes — although it bears noting that right now, nobody appears to actually be selling the sort of kit California prohibits.

The bill containing the prohibition was authored by Republican state Sen. Ling Ling Chang and signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 30. In January, it’ll become law. Chang says it’s the first US law to explicitly address the gene-editing technology CRISPR.

…continue reading ‘Is It Time to Regulate Biohacking?’

Image via Flickr Some rights reserved by fairlybuoyant

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Vox

‘Room for Wisdom’ STEM Ethics Convening

July 19, 2019

Our Debra Mathews was among 10 scholars from 8 universities presenting on science, ethics, and society during this June 3rd event

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‘Room for Wisdom’ STEM Ethics Convening

Friday, July 19th, 2019

On Monday, June 3rd 2019, the Henry Luce Foundation hosted a convening, in recognition of the Clare Boothe Luce Program’s 30th Anniversary, of noted higher-education, institution-based ethicists and representatives from select Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) grantee institutions. Ten presenters from eight universities and colleges were joined by participants from thirty different institutions and members of Henry Luce Foundation staff, either in-person or via ZOOM video conference.

The goal of the convening was to launch a conversation on STEM Ethics and generate content ideas for the “Room for Wisdom: Clare Boothe Luce Program Participants’ Perspectives on STEM Ethics and Society” blog. The 30th anniversary blog aims to draw upon the collective wisdom of the CBL community, and to discuss and share examples of practices to address questions of STEM Ethics. Select posts will be compiled into a “Room for Wisdom” book at the end of the year.

The meeting addressed the following topics, shared by the presenters below:

…continue reading ”Room for Wisdom’ STEM Ethics Convening’

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Luce Foundation

Honey, I CRISPR’d the Kids (Science for the People Podcast)

June 17, 2019

Host Bethany Brookshire leads a panel of three amazing guests to talk about the promise and perils of CRISPR, and what happens now that CRISPR babies have (maybe?) been born. Featuring science writer Tina Saey, molecular biologist Anne Simon, and bioethicist Alan Regenberg.

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Honey, I CRISPR’d the Kids (Science for the People Podcast)

Monday, June 17th, 2019

This week we’re coming to you from Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. There, host Bethany Brookshire led a panel of three amazing guests to talk about the promise and perils of CRISPR, and what happens now that CRISPR babies have (maybe?) been born. Featuring science writer Tina Saey, molecular biologist Anne Simon, and bioethicist Alan Regenberg.

Read more ‘Honey, I CRISPR’d the Kids’

Thumbimage: By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47335318

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Science for the People Podcast

Could Donor #2065 Be My Father?

June 17, 2019

Emily Cochrane writes, “He was an Eagle Scout who had passed calculus and spoke some Mandarin. I was determined to meet him.”

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Could Donor #2065 Be My Father?

Monday, June 17th, 2019

I found the envelope at 3 a.m.

It was wedged into my mailbox at school, a packet the size of a large book. I didn’t normally check my mail after a late night editing The Alligator, the University of Florida student newspaper, but for some reason I made the detour.

I pulled out the envelope and flipped it over. There was my name in my mother’s perfect calligraphy. “Oh my God,” I said out loud. “She actually sent it.”

Inside might be the most I would ever know about my father.

…continue reading ‘Could Donor #2065 Be My Father?’

Image via Flickr Some rights reserved by haven’t the slightest

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New York Times

The Last Flue Pandemic Was a ‘Quiet Killer’

June 11, 2019

Ten years after swine flu, no one can predict the next one

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The Last Flue Pandemic Was a ‘Quiet Killer’

Tuesday, June 11th, 2019

The cryptic phone call came on a Monday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was holding an important teleconference for a few reporters. I should dial in.

When the time came, just a handful of reporters were on the line. Also there: the CDC’s top flu experts. They sounded worried.

Two unrelated children from southern California had tested positive for flu infections caused by viruses that normally sicken pigs. This could have been a fluke, but from the unusual nature of the call and from the tension in the voices of the experts, it was clear that the CDC officials thought it might be something else: an influenza pandemic.

…continue reading ‘The Last Flue Pandemic Was a ‘Quiet Killer”

Image: By Mikael Häggström – All used images are in public domain., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6638284

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STAT

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New CRISPR Tools Can Cut, Splice Whole Chromosomes

New CRISPR Tools Can Cut, Splice Whole Chromosomes

Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’

Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’

Huge US Government Study to Offer Genetic Counselling

Huge US Government Study to Offer Genetic Counselling

Is It Time to Regulate Biohacking?

Is It Time to Regulate Biohacking?

‘Room for Wisdom’ STEM Ethics Convening

‘Room for Wisdom’ STEM Ethics Convening

Honey, I CRISPR’d the Kids (Science for the People Podcast)

Honey, I CRISPR’d the Kids (Science for the People Podcast)

Could Donor #2065 Be My Father?

Could Donor #2065 Be My Father?

The Last Flue Pandemic Was a ‘Quiet Killer’

The Last Flue Pandemic Was a ‘Quiet Killer’

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