Identity of personal genomic DNA revealed by Web search
Kevin Jiang reports in the Spoonful of Medicine blog on a new study which suggests that your entire genome could be added to that list of personal information so easily found online—whether you want it to be or not:
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“The issue is the current status of privacy,” says Yaniv Erlich, a geneticist at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who led the research. “We need [sponsors of genomic studies] to be respectful to participants, to tell them the truth: that someone can identify you.”
To lift the mask off of genomic data that had been seemingly stripped of identifying information, Erlich and his team focused on the Y-chromosome, typically passed along with surnames from fathers to sons. Genetic ancestry services such as FamilyTreeDNA and Ancestry.com allow customers to trace their paternal genealogy through an analysis of a series of genetic markers known as short tandem repeats on the Y-chromosome (Y-STRs). As a free service, many of these companies also share their large databases of Y-STRs, with accompanying surnames and built-in search engines, to the public.
What is the future of personal genomic tests? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment thread of the post.
Royal Institution considers sale of London headquarters
The esteemed Royal Institution, London, according to a report in the Times, will soon be listed by a real estate agency for upwards of £60 million. Ewen Callaway elaborates in the News Blog:
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The move follows years of financial turmoil and internal strife at the RI, which Nature reported on in 2010 (see “Revolution crushed at Royal Institution”): “A refurbishment of the RI’s central London headquarters costing £22 million (US$34 million) has caused a shortfall in funds, and, some say, leaves the institution in danger of closing.”
The two century-old institution’s books have not apparently gotten much better. According to its 2011 financial report, they are £7.1 million in debt and received a £3 million loan and another £2 million in overdraft allowances from the bank HSBC. ”The charity is reliant on overdraft and bank loan facilities, which are reviewed on an annual basis and will be reviewed again in March 2013,” the report says. That year the RI reported £4.49 million in expenses against £4.38 million in income.
Hear what RI chairmen, Richard Sykes, has to say in Ewen’s post.
8 Ways to get the best internship
Competition for internships is as fierce as ever; to help those on the lookout, Nature Jobs blogger Catherine de Lange, along with other industry experts, has put together a list of top tips:
Tip 2. Take a proactive approach to find a placement.
Whilst social media provides a great platform to communicate with a range of people, even potential employers, don’t just rely on sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook to find a placement. Many companies still welcome contact from potential interns via more traditional routes. Rather than making contact through online sites, a well-written letter or email to the right person is more likely to get you noticed. It is also worth noting that companies often outsource their search for interns to recruitment agencies, so you should get in touch with the leading recruitment consultants in the regions and industry sectors you are targeting. Ken Jones, President & CEO of Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd, the European headquarters of Astellas Pharma Inc.
Do you have any tips? Please share them in Catherine’s post.
Now, where did I put that Ebola?
In the first study of its kind, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled statistics on problems related to the handling of hazardous biological agents, such as Ebola, SARS, and anthrax, at hundreds of academic and government research centres. Helen Shen reveals more in the News Blog:
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Laboratories that work with biological select agents and toxins—materials highly regulated for their potential to cause human disease—reported that pathogens were inadvertantly released 639 times between 2004 and 2010. During the same period, laboratories also reported losing 88 samples, although bookkeeping errors accounted for all but one. The remaining lost sample was accidentally destroyed by a commercial courier.
The study, which published in the current issue of Applied Biosafety, says that no occurrences of theft were reported.
Over the 7-year period, laboratories reported 11 lab-acquired infections, at an average annual rate of 1.6 per 10,000 authorised workers. Ten of the infections were traced to bacterial sources, and one was due to.
Science blogging in the Arab world (or the lack thereof)
Over on the House of Wisdom blog, guest Rayna Stamboliyska discusses the lack of science blogging in the Arab world and why this is so significant:
The blogging culture in the Arab world thus seems to mainly touch opinionated people with a say in politics and economy. There is nothing wrong with this. I’ll spare you a lecture on the importance of social media for changing the society we live in, this has been thoroughly discussed elsewhere. Loads of bits and ink have also been spilled to demonstrate the importance of science blogging. Given the paucity of science blogs in the Arab World, I guess a reminder is more than useful.
Why write about science? Reason #1: scientists get to speak directly to the public. Reason #2: lay scientists or enthusiasts engage and keep up to date with developments in various scientific fields. Reason #3: open discussions on research topics are promoted among peers.
Continue to Rayna’s post to hear more of her thoughts.
Away from home
Every Wednesday, the Indigenus blog host an ‘Away from home’ post featuring an Indian postdoc working in a foreign lab recounting his/her experience of working there. This week’s guest blogger is Mugdha Joglekar, the first postdoc in this series working in Australia:
Australia is a fantastic place to be in especially if you like to go places and be adventurous. Work-wise, early post-doctoral fellows in Australia are treated as employees (unlike in the USA) and receive all benefits. Although post-doctoral fellowships are higher in Australia than in the USA, cities like Sydney can cut down all differences due to high costs of living. The other thing to remember is that Australia has a smaller funding pool and smaller research community than in the USA. So it is more competitive to get into good places. Watch out for new positions especially around October-December (NHMRC announcements) and check out possibilities for travel/short term fellowships to visit labs in Australia before making a formal application.
Have you worked in a lab abroad? Share your thoughts in the post or join in online using the #postdochat hashtag.
Using Viagra To Burn Fat
SciLogs blogger, Jalees Rehman explains in his latest post how white fat cannot be burned off easily and how it also seems to be responsible for many of the deleterious effects associated with obesity, such as diabetes and inflammation. However, there may be an unusual treatment that seems to be effective in mice:
The paper “Increased cGMP promotes healthy expansion and browning of white adipose tissue” published in the FASEB Journal by Michaela Mitschke and colleagues (Online publication January 9, 2013) uses a rather unusual approach to induce the “browning” of white fat.
The researchers treated mice with Viagra (sildenafil), a drug that is normally used for erectile dysfunction. They found that only seven days of Viagra treatment increased the levels of the brown fat protein UCP-1 and that the white fat began showing the presence of “beige” (not quite white and not fully brown) fat.
This new study may have important practical implications because it uses an approved drug that is commonly available for human studies. Hear more about this research in Jalees’s post.
Australia’s peacock spider
Finally, in GrrlScientist‘s latest post at SciLogs.com, you can meet the world’s most adorable spider and watch his amazing courtship dance!
{credit}Jürgen C. Otto and David E. Hill, 2011.{/credit}