DNA editing has the capacity to treat many diseases, but how to do this safely and equitably remains unclear.
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André O. Hudson, Rochester Institute of Technology and Gary Skuse, Rochester Institute of Technology
Following the controversial births of the first gene-edited babies, a major focus of the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing was responsible use of CRISPR.
More people moved into Scandinavia in Viking times than at any other time period analysed in the study.
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Humanity carries traces of other populations in our DNA – and a new study shows how one of these ancestors has influenced the immune systems of modern Papuans.
Statistical pitfalls in GWAS can result in misleading conclusions about whether some traits (like long horns or spotted skin, in the case of dinosaurs) are genetically linked.
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Richard Border, University of California, Los Angeles and Noah Zaitlen, University of California, Los Angeles
People don’t randomly select who they have children with. And that means an underlying assumption in research that tries to link particular genes to certain diseases or traits is wrong.
Nigeria provides an excellent lens to look at the genetic diversity of African people.
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Segun Fatumo, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
A new study hopes to produce a catalogue of human genetic variation and assess the burden of noncommunicable diseases in 100,000 adults in Nigeria.
While resurrecting dinosaurs may not be on the docket just yet, gene drives have the power to alter entire species.
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As genetic engineering and DNA manipulation tools like CRISPR continue to advance, the distinction between what science ‘could’ and ‘should’ do becomes murkier.
Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Kieran Moore arrives to speak at a press conference at Queen’s Park on April 11, 2022. Ontario lifted most COVID-19 restrictions in March.
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Instead of minimizing current or future waves of COVID-19, we need strategies to deal with new variants efficiently. Only then can we live with the virus in a healthy way.
Over half of the human genome contains repetitive DNA sequences whose functions are still not fully understood.
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Advances in technology have enabled researchers to sequence the large regions of repetitive DNA that eluded the Human Genome Project.
Inequality in coronavirus genomic surveillance delays the detection of globally significant variants of concern.
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Improving genomic surveillance to better understand new variants as they arise in different parts of the world could prevent threats to vulnerable health systems and populations.
For patients, often children, with rare diseases, getting a diagnosis is difficult and time-consuming.
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Record-breaking technology can sequence an entire human genome in a matter of hours. The work could be a lifeline for people suffering from the more than 5,000 known rare genetic diseases.
Even when much course instruction moved online due to COVID-19, some wet lab courses have continued in-person since summer 2020.
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A medical genomics professor reflects on how lab simulations offer some advantages for student learning, but developing the muscle memory of performing hands-on lab work is important.
Claire Guinat, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Etthel Windels, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Sarah Nadeau, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
After a nose swab tests positive for a virus or bacteria, scientists can use the sample’s genetic sequence to figure out where and when the pathogen emerged and how fast it’s changing.
Genetic analysis can reveal how hair gets its colour.
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Scientists have been eager to edit genomes to eliminate certain diseases. New WHO reports outlines ethical approaches to research and treatment.
Two girls lay in bed in the dormitory at All Saints Indian Residential School in Lac La Ronge, Sask., in 1945.
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We must recognize and understand the harms that malnutrition and nutrition experiments on Indigenous people caused and the legacy they have left.
A tailings pond at an oilsands facility near Fort McMurray, Alta., in July 2012. The estimated cost of reclaiming oilsands mines is almost $31 billion.
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Solutions to some of the globe’s most daunting environmental challenges may be closer than you think. Scientists are harnessing nature to clean up toxic chemicals and mining waste.
The emergence of variants of concern in late 2020 marked a shift in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Delta variant: What it is, where it came from, why it’s different and whether COVID-19 vaccines can prevent it.
A security guard leads reporters away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a WHO team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan, Hubei province of China, Feb. 3, 2021. The team came to no conclusions about the origins of the pandemic.
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Gain-of-function studies make a natural virus more dangerous or transmissible to humans. Could the Wuhan Institute of Virology be the source of SARS-CoV-2?