genetic testing

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Berkeley to Freshmen: Want a DNA Test?

They'll see how their genes deal with alcohol

(Newser) - UC Berkeley's incoming freshmen have an unusual option this summer: Students can swab their cheeks and send it in for a DNA test that will check for genes that help metabolize alcohol, lactose, and folates. The school is hoping that genetic information will help students live a healthier lifestyle on...

Walgreens to Wait on Cheap Genetic Tests


 Walgreens to 
 Wait on Cheap 
 Genetic Tests 
YIELDS TO FDA
May 13, 2010 6:32 AM CDT

Walgreens to Wait on Cheap Genetic Tests

FDA: No proof kits are safe, effective

(Newser) - Drugstore giant Walgreen Co. will hold off selling over-the-counter genetic tests. The company announced Tuesday that the kits would be on shelves this month, but reversed the decision after a stiff response from regulators. "These kits have not been proven safe, effective, or accurate," an FDA rep said....

Drugstores Will Sell Genetic Tests

 Drugstores Will Sell 
 Genetic Tests 
NOT fDA APPROVED
May 11, 2010 10:27 AM CDT

Drugstores Will Sell Genetic Tests

Possibly illegal product reveals risk of disease

(Newser) - Soon, you may be able to pick up a genetic testing kit at your local drugstore. A San Diego company has made a deal to sell its new Insight test at Walgreens locations across the country, promising consumers a look at their risk for Alzheimer's, breast cancer, diabetes, and more....

Want to Save Dad? Insurance Won't Let You

And Congress fatcats need to overhaul this 'disgrace' now: Kristof

(Newser) - So dear old dad desperately needs a kidney, and the docs say you're the best fit. Tough luck, writes Nicholas Kristof in a look at the case of David Waddington, whose two sons can't donate—because pre-donation screening might reveal to insurance companies that they have the same genetic condition...

Genius, Madness Linked to Gene

Study links creativity to gene associated with mental illness

(Newser) - The reason why many creative people like Vincent Van Gogh show self-destructive tendencies is in the genes, researchers have discovered. Scientists in a new study found that volunteers identified as the most creative also had the highest levels of a gene variant associated with psychosis and depression, the Daily Telegraph...

Paris Keeps Cut Hair to Dodge DNA Testing

Jackson's daughter gets haircut during retail therapy trip with grandmother

(Newser) - The hair snipped from Paris Jackson's head last week won't be falling into the hands of the genetic paparazzi. The Las Vegas salon that cut the 11-year-old's hair carefully swept up, bagged, and handed over every last strand, apparently to stop potential thieves from running a DNA test on the...

Is She a Man? Is Phelps a Fish?
 Is She a Man? 
 Is Phelps a Fish? 
OPINION
Aug 21, 2009 8:55 AM CDT

Is She a Man? Is Phelps a Fish?

(Newser) - It's wrong to be subjecting South African sprinter Caster Semenya to "a public slaying," writes Antonia Senior, who says that debating her gender has no more credibility than asking if "Michael Phelps is really a fish." For the Times of London columnist, sports are now "...

Ethicists Call Foul on Baseball's DNA Testing

(Newser) - Major League Baseball's DNA testing of Latin American rookies has bioethics experts worried, the New York Times reports. League officials say the genetic tests are necessary after a string of cases in which prospects lied about their age or identity, but experts fear the tests may be used to weed...

DNA Tests Solve Man's 26-Year Search for His Dad

Testing helped adopted man discover his birth father through his surname

(Newser) - A Michigan man's decades-long search for his biological father was fulfilled with an assist from DNA-based genealogy tests, the Wall Street Journal reports. Richard Hill—who didn't know he was adopted until his adoptive father revealed the truth from his deathbed—discovered his birth mother's identity fairly easily but hit...

Safer Down Syndrome Tests Give Birth to Ethics Fears

Procedures look safer, more accurate, but raise ethics concerns

(Newser) - New tests to detect Down syndrome early in pregnancy look highly promising to some experts—but they’re prompting new ethical and medical questions, the Washington Post reports. The procedures, to be publicly available in June, appear safer and more accurate than current options. But Down syndrome and anti-abortion activists...

Screening Technique Improves In Vitro Odds

Scientists can now safely analyze eggs' chances of conception

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a way to greatly increase the chance of success for in vitro fertilizations, Time reports. Under current procedures, fresh eggs yield only a 25% success rate, necessitating multiple—and expensive—attempts. Many eggs hold chromosomal defects that make them incapable of conception, but it has, until now,...

Who's Your Daddy? DNA Tests May Shock You

DNA tests can lead to unpleasant discoveries

(Newser) - A simple DNA test is enough to rend a family apart, the Los Angeles Times reports. As more people take genetic tests to uncover medical data or trace family roots, more are discovering that their biological father is someone else. It's an old issue in medicine—blood types, after all,...

Is Your Kid a Sprinter or Footballer? Gene Test Knows

But experts cite scientific, ethical flaws

(Newser) - The answer to whether a kid would make a better linebacker or long-distance runner might lie in a simple genetic test—but many experts worry it could lead parents in the wrong direction, the New York Times reports. Based on a study that pointed to one gene’s role in...

Baldness Gene Can Pass From Father to Son

Think your mom's dad's lush locks mean your 'do is safe? Maybe not.

(Newser) - The old idea that looking at the maternal grandfather's hairline to predict whether a man will go bald is about half right, genetic researchers have found. The female X chromosome carries one baldness gene, but two studies have identified another gene that can be inherited from Dad. Guys with both...

Sensitive Swiss Ban Plant Humiliation

Genetic research must not violate the dignity of wheat

(Newser) - Swiss scientists eager to carry out genetic experiments on plants can’t be rash—they must first consider the how their actions make that tulip feel. Government-backed ethicists studied the effects of such experimentation on plants’ dignity; they found that it was wrong to hurt plants for no reason, or...

New Prenatal Gene Test Proves Safer

Checks mom's blood for defects without miscarriage risk

(Newser) - Scientists have developed a prenatal test for genetic defects much safer than the ones currently in use, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Methods like amniocentesis can spot chromosomal disorders like Down Syndrome, but involve inserting a needle into the uterus, which carries close to a 1-in-200 risk of miscarriage....

FDA OKs High-Speed Flu Test
 FDA OKs High-Speed Flu Test 
Oct 1, 2008 1:50 AM CDT

FDA OKs High-Speed Flu Test

Technique will ID new strains in crucial early warning system

(Newser) - A new genetic test for the flu virus, which slashes the time it takes to identify new strains from 4 days to 4 hours, has been approved by the FDA. The test will play a key role in an early warning system if the US is ever struck by a...

NY Sushi Sleuths Uncover Fishy Tricks

Simple DNA test reveals fish sellers' bait-and-switch

(Newser) - Two New York City high school students used DNA testing to uncover a bait-and-switch scam in local restaurants and fish markets, the New York Times reports. Fish being sold as prized white tuna turned out to be the much more common—and cheaper—Mozambique tilapia, while red snapper proved to...

FBI Tries to Dispel Anthrax Probe Doubts

But acknowledges 'spore on a grassy knoll' sentiment

(Newser) - The FBI revealed unprecedented details about its investigation of army scientist Bruce Ivins yesterday in a move to counter skepticism in the scientific community. The agency laid out how it brought together top scientists from the public and private sector to trace samples of the deadly anthrax of 2001 to...

Gene Test May Rewrite Breast Cancer Screening

Mouth swab will offer more precise measure

(Newser) - Scientists say they will soon be able to take a simple mouth swab from women to better determine their risk of breast cancer, the Guardian reports. Researchers at Cambridge University have zeroed in on several genetic variants—with more to come—that offer a far more precise measure of a...

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