NIH announces database for genetic test information
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has unveiled its Genetic Testing Registry, a database of information on genetic tests that will be voluntarily submitted by test producers. Read more
Biosecurity group to review new avian flu data
The National Institutes of Health wants a biosecurity review board to reconsider the fate of two unpublished H5N1 avian flu virus studies in light of new data and clarifications.
New risk assessment for Boston biocontainment lab
A US National Institutes of Health advisory panel has released a new risk assessment for a controversial high-security biocontainment lab located near Boston’s bustling downtown core. The Draft Supplementary Risk Assessment for the Boston University National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) was released on 24 February and is the next step in a long and process that may eventually lead to the National Biocontainment Laboratory being used for its intended purpose: researching vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for emerging biological agents that could pose a serious public threat. Read more
Updated: Virginia moves towards personhood for embryos
A bill that would redefine the word “person” to include human embryos from the moment of conception has moved forward in the Virginia state legislature. Read more
FDA employees sue agency over email surveillance
Six former and current scientists at the US Food and Drug Administration have sued the agency for secretly monitoring their personal email according to the Washington Post. Read more
‘Report card’ documents the Arctic’s new normal
The Arctic has entered a new era. The region has shifted to conditions of warmer air and water, less ice covering the sea and more vegetation growing on the land, say an international team of scientists in this year’s Arctic Report Card from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lynn Margulis 1938 – 2011
Biologist Lynn Margulis, best known for her work on the theory of endosymbiosis, died on 22 November at her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was 73.
New neurons reduce drug-seeking behaviour
Some of the hard work of fighting addiction to heroin or cocaine is in learning not to use the drug. And if drug use inhibits the generation of new neurons that facilitate learning, the problem becomes a vicious circle. Now, research presented at this week’s annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington DC shows that increasing the brain’s ability to generate new neurons decreases drug-seeking behaviours in rodents.
Personhood amendment rejected in Mississippi
Voters in the state of Mississippi have decided that a fertilized egg should not be given the legal rights and privileges of an infant or adult human.
AIDS-free generation now possible, says Clinton
An AIDS-free generation is possible if the world makes the most of proven preventive interventions, said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 8 November.
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