The field of personal genetics is in the news almost on a daily basis. pgEd is beginning a new series called “on the cutting edge” to give you links to what we’re reading to stay on the pulse of this rapidly evolving field. The headlines that we share will explore some of the clinical developments in personalized or precision medicine, scientific breakthroughs in genetics and genome engineering (including highlights from our own backyard at Harvard Medical School), as well as the intersections with people’s lives in the realms of health, reproduction, athletics, law, and beyond.
Our goal is to provide a glimpse into the forefront of personal genetics. Inclusion on our list does not imply that pgEd advocates or agrees with the views presented in the articles. By the same token, there are many wonderful resources that we will not be able to cite, and we apologize in advance to authors whose works we have not included.
“Genetic Heroes” May Be Key to Treating Debilitating Diseases
The Resilience Project seeks to find people who are unaffected by genetic mutations that would normally cause severe and fatal disorders
By Geoffrey Giller, Scientific American
May 30, 2014
Microbes defy rules of DNA code
Researchers find widespread ‘recoding’.
By Erika Check Hayden, Nature News
May 22, 2014
Reproductive medicine: The power of three
Techniques that transfer DNA from diseased human eggs to healthy ones — creating offspring with three biological parents — are on the verge of clinical use.
By Ewen Callaway, Nature News
May 21, 2014
Scientists hoping to ease interpretation of the DNA ‘book of life’
By Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Boston Globe
May 19, 2014
‘Heart disease-on-a-chip’
Stem cell research helps cross-Harvard collaborators mine prospects for personalized medicine
By Joseph Caputo, Harvard Gazette
May 11, 2014
Gene startup 23andme casts eyes abroad after U.S. regulatory hurdle
By Christina Farr, Reuters
May 6, 2014
Image credit: “Bootstrap DNA by Charles Jencks, 2003” by mira66 (CC BY 2.0)
