Personalized Medicine in the Genomic Era
When the human genome draft was announced 10 years ago, many researchers and policymakers anticipated using the newly sequenced code to develop a wealth of diagnostic and treatment capabilities. But the genetic components of disease have proved more complex
Genome Sequencing for the Rest of Us
Even as scans get faster and cheaper, many diseases still have unknown or sketchy genetic correlates. How much stock should consumers put in personal genome sequencing?
Vaccinomics: Scientists Are Devising Your Personal Vaccine
A new breed of vaccine is being developed that will make possible immunizations tailored to your genetic profile. But how long will it be until your personalized booster shots are ready?...
Vaccines Derived from Patients' Tumor Cells Are Individualizing Cancer Treatment
As researchers learn more about genetic profile of various cancers, other work is charging ahead to deliver personalized vaccines targeted to a patient's own tumor cells
A genome story: 10th anniversary commentary by Francis Collins
For those of you who like stories with simple plots and tidy endings, I must confess the tale of the Human Genome Project isn't one of those. The story didn't reach its conclusion when we unveiled the first draft of the human genetic blueprint at the White House on June 26, 2000...
What Fetal Genome Screening Could Mean for Babies and Parents
A noninvasive screening method could provide expectant parents with unprecedented and comprehensive fetal genetic data, but it also presents new ethical quandaries
Big Precision Medicine Plan Raises Patient Privacy Concerns
White House’s move to develop customized care prompts worries about data security and informed consent
After 23andMe, Another Personal Genetics Firm Is Charged with False Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission says GeneLink, which served 30,000 customers, made claims not based on science and failed to protect consumer information
23andMe Is Terrifying, but Not for the Reasons the FDA Thinks
The genetic-testing company's real goal is to hoard your personal data
Unhidden Traits: Genomic Data Privacy Debates Heat Up
We shield social security numbers, conceal credit cards and shred sensitive records. Now it's time to think about how closely we guard our genomes
Schizophrenia shares genetic links with autism, genome study shows
Schizophrenia involves some of the same genetic variations as autism and attention deficit disorders, a new whole-genome study has confirmed.
Schizophrenia, which affects about 1.5 percent of the U.S...
Large-Scale Autism Study Reveals Disorder's Genetic Complexity
Although unique genetic variations in children with autism are nearly as rare as they are in the general population, comprehensive studies are starting to find patterns in disrupted genes and pathways...
A genetic marker for aggressive prostate cancer emerges
A host of genome-wide studies has shown that a man's genetic makeup can predispose him to prostate cancer, currently the most common form of cancer in men other than skin cancer.
Genetics in the Gut: Intestinal Microbes Could Drive Obesity and Other Health Issues
The diversity of germs in the human gut suggests microbiota play a greater role in health than previously thought, even driving obesity and other metabolic conditions
Where's my genome sequence? Almost 10 years after the human genome was drafted, many genomics goals remain unrealized
The first sequenced drafts of the human genome were announced 10 years ago this June. President Bill Clinton remarked at the time that, "genome science will have a real impact on all of our lives." Although hopes were high, neither he nor the researchers involved promised magical genomic cures or personalized genomes for everyone by 2010...
New genetic associations for Alzheimer's disease
The long and winding journey to the roots of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, has turned up three new genetic clues—the first major ones in 15 years.
Genetic Copy Variations and Disease
A new sense for how variable numbers of genes cause disease
Knowing Your Chances: What Health Stats Really Mean
Learn how to put aside unjustified fears and hopes and how to weigh your real risk of illness—or likelihood of recovery
Meet my genome: 10 people release their DNA on the Web
Ten people today allowed their genetic maps to be publicly displayed on the Web in the name of research. The effort is part of Harvard Medical School's Personal Genome Project (PGP), which aims to create a large public database of human DNA to aid researchers in their quest to find the causes and cures for genetic maladies.
The first 10 volunteers, dubbed the PGP-10, include project director and Harvard Medical School geneticist George Church; Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker; technology writer Esther Dyson; Duke University science editor Misha Angrist; Keith Batchelder, CEO of Genomic Healthcare Strategies in Charlestown, Mass.; Rosalynn Gill, founder of personalized health company Sciona in Aurora, Colo.; John Halamka, technology dean at Harvard Medical School; Stanley Lapidus, chairman and CEO of Helicos BioSciences Corp...
Tougher Laws Needed to Protect Your Genetic Privacy
In spite of recent legislation, tougher laws are needed to prevent insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic tests
Senate Passes Genetic Antidiscrimination Bill
Law would bar insurers and employers from discriminating based on genetic testing
Genome-Based Medical Choices Draw Nearer
A study of over 38,000 hypertension patients (the ALLHAT study, for Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial) finds that individuals respond better to some drugs than to others, based on their personal genetics...
Are Personal Genome Scans Medically Useless?
Doubts about whether commercial DNA scans improve health
1,000 Genomes Project: Expanding the Map of Human Genetics
Researchers hope the effort will speed up the discovery of many diseases's genetic roots
Genomes for All
Next-generation technologies that make reading DNA fast, cheap and widely accessible are coming in less than a decade. Their potential to revolutionize research and bring about the era of truly personalized medicine means the time to start preparing is now...
SNPs of Disease
The U.K. plans a national genomic database to study late-onset sickness
What Rare Disorder Is Hiding in Your DNA?
As comprehensive genetic tests become more widespread, patients and experts mull how to deal with unexpected findings
Biomarker Studies Could Realize Goal of More Effective and Personalized Cancer Medicine
Finding individual differences in tumors is key to treating the right patient with the right medicine at the right time, researchers say
A Drug to Call One's Own
Will medicine finally get personal?
Facing Your Genetic Destiny
The use of predictive genetic tests is still limited to a handful of relatively rare and highly hereditary diseases, but that's about to change
