Look dads – no mum!

Look dads – no mum!

Having a so-called non-traditional family just got easier – if you’re a mouse. Well, actually it’s still not easy, as you’ll see if you keep reading, but it is doable. Researchers yesterday reported using stem cell technology to create mice with two dads, and no mums, genetically speaking. That is, the mice carried chromosomes from two males, rather than the usual assortment of genetic material from one male and one female.

DNA sequencing traces Haiti cholera epidemic to South Asia

DNA sequencing traces Haiti cholera epidemic to South Asia

The strain of cholera bacterium responsible for the epidemic currently raging in Haiti came from South Asia, and was most likely carried to Haiti by an infected human or some form of human activity, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine today.

Positive review for California stem cell agency

Positive review for California stem cell agency

The first comprehensive external review of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has come to overwhelmingly positive conclusions about the state stem cell agency’s progress. But some in the biotech community continue to grumble that the agency, which began operations in 2006, is focusing too much on basic research rather than fulfilling its mandate of taking stem cell therapies from bench to bedside.

The new biology on the silver screen

The new biology on the silver screen

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum was the place to be yesterday evening for conference-goers at the American Society of Human Genetic meeting in Washington DC. The gene sequencing company Pacific Biosciences, had taken over the museum for a premier screening of documentary film the company had made called “The New Biology.”

Why so many rare variants?

Why so many rare variants?

Unsurprisingly, much of the buzz at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting this year is about the 1000 Genomes Project, the eagerly awaited pilot data for which was published last week. One of the main take-home messages from the analysis has been the huge number of rare variants the study has turned up so far.

NIH to launch genetic testing registry next spring

NIH to launch genetic testing registry next spring

A public, online registry providing information on the hundreds of available genetic tests is set to launch this coming spring, US National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials said at a public meeting in Washington DC this afternoon. But many of the details – such as what information it will include — remain to be figured out.