An international cadre of scientists* from almost 70 institutions worldwide recently reported their findings in the scientific journal Nature that the domesticated dog (Canis familiaris) arose from two populations of...more
In the past several months we have written a couple of times about the world of anonymous parentage and the conflict it has unintentionally ignited. In October we published “23 and EEEEEE” excerpting from the Philadelphia...more
The dire wolf (Canis dirus), prototype of the various wolves that were important members of the House Stark family of characters in Game of Thrones, was found uniquely in North America until its extinction in the late...more
Cancer, the "Emperor of All Maladies" as it has been termed, has been studied for millennia. President Nixon's "War on Cancer" resulted in slow but steady progress, aided by the biotechnology revolution, the development of...more
In the last days of the most recent legislative session, the California State Legislature was busy passing several privacy bills set to impact businesses. The most recent, the Genetic Information Privacy Act, would require...more
Genetic instability has long been recognized as a hallmark of oncogenesis and tumor progression. The phenomenon was first identified cytogenetically, most famously by the Philadelphia chromosome in chronic myelogenous...more
Lions (Panthera leo) once were a widely distributed group of terrestrial mammals, ranging during the Pleistocene (from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago) in Eurasia, Africa, and North America, with species that included the...more
The avocado, having gained popularity (at least in the U.S.) as a convenient (and delicious) vehicle for consuming otherwise not particularly healthful corn chips, has more recently been hailed as a "superfood" when consumed...more
Embracing personalized medicine, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) released a draft guidance document titled Draft Guideline on Good Pharmacogenomic Practice (“Guidance”) on good pharmacogenomic practice with the stated...more
Genetic information is basically one’s DNA sequence, which includes health information and genetic information about the individual and their family. It is at the core of one’s individual privacy, as well as providing...more
We have all heard about the burgeoning opportunities tied to the development of precision medicine (also called “personalized medicine”), which includes the use of an individual’s genetic information to design targeted...more
Advances in DNA sequencing technology and the interpretation of the acquired data have fueled advances in genomics and its application in the delivery of personalized healthcare. Illumina recently announced a new milestone...more