Tag: "genes"
Why Your Newfound Uniqueness is a Nightmare for Your Doctor
A couple of new studies confirm what many of us have feared: each of us is surprisingly unique genetically. This is to be feared because of the impact it will have on the future of personalized medicine.
Post on May 28, 2012 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Divining Human History with DNA
Everyone knows about how genetics is changing how we look at and treat human disease. But what may be less appreciated is what it can tell us about human history.
Post on Apr 16, 2012 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
We Don’t Want the Funk (in our Wine)
Scientists are using DNA sequencing to protect our wines by keeping future sulfite-resistant forms of the yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis at bay.
Post on Dec 26, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Sniffing Out Mr. Right
Biology may have made it so that women prefer the smell of men with different immune systems from their own. Disturbingly, the pill may turn this on its head so that women like the way men with similar immune systems smell.
Post on Nov 07, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Will He Have My Nose?
I get these kinds of questions all the time. And except for a few traits, I have to pretty much say I don’t know.
Post on Oct 24, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Turning Chickens into Dinosaurs
If we are ever going to resurrect dinosaurs, it probably won't be like in the movie Jurassic Park. Instead, we'll have to throw evolution into reverse and turn a bird back into a dinosaur.
Post on Sep 12, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
Autism More than Genes
A new twin study suggests that the environment may play a bigger role in autism than scientists previously thought.
Post on Jul 18, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr from QUEST Northern California
The Cloud in the Silver Lining
There are no free lunches in genetics. Having a certain version of a gene may protect you from one thing, but make you susceptible to another.
Post on Jun 20, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr
A Better Military Through Genetics
A new report recommends that all military people have their DNA sequenced to advance science and to create a better military. Can we trust the military to get this right – or anyone?
Post on Jan 31, 2011 by Dr. Barry Starr
Test Tube Baby Nobel Prize
Dr. Edwards recently received a Nobel Prize in medicine for figuring out how to fertilize an egg in a Petri dish. Huge social impact but was the science Nobel-worthy?
Post on Oct 11, 2010 by Dr. Barry Starr
Beware Helicopter Parents
Time recently had a great article on helicopter parents. These are the parents who hover around their kids, protecting them from any harm. They are undoubtedly doing this to ensure their kids’ success in life. I don’t want to get into the plusses and minuses of this parenting style…to each his own. What I do want to do is to warn them away from a new genetic testing company that seems designed to target them.
Post on Dec 07, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Who Owns My DNA?
If a DNA testing company gets bought out, what happens to their customers' DNA? Image by Molly Eyres. / CC BY 2.0 One niggling worry I had when I decided to get some genetic testing from 23andMe was what would happen to my DNA if the company failed. By all accounts, 23andMe is a very [...]
Post on Nov 23, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Trick or Trait
"Mysteries of DNA" image courtesy Mark H. Adams. Full-size version. As anyone who follows this blog knows, I recently took a 23andMe genetic test and have been blogging about it ever since. Today I thought I would focus on one of the fun parts of the service: traits. Lots of our traits are at least [...]
Post on Nov 09, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
An Incomplete for 23andMe's Carrier Testing
What can genetic testing tell you? A while back I took a 23andMe genetic test that looks at over 600,000 different spots on my DNA. The last few blogs I have been going over my genetic test results with an eye on how useful they are. And how well the results are explained. Last blog [...]
Post on Oct 26, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Do These Genes Make Me Look Diabetic?
A couple of weeks ago I was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Right when I am in the middle of talking about genetic testing!
Post on Oct 12, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Genetic Tests: When No Means Maybe (Part 2)
In my last blog post, I showed how the two most powerful ancestry tests, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome, were useless to me in my hunt. Now I want look at the rest of my DNA. So here we go!
Post on Sep 28, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Risky Business: Genes Just Part of the Story
When talking about genetic pre-disposition to a condition, make sure you understand both the increased risk factor and the general risk.As the geneticist at the Ask a Geneticist blog, I get a lot of questions about diseases that run in the family. They usually run along the lines of, "My mother had diabetes, what is [...]
Post on Jul 06, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Tracking Genetics in Popular Culture
In the last couple of weeks, on another blog of mine there has been a surge in our answers about genetic chimeras. Usually this means that somewhere in the world, a certain episode of CSI is being shown.
Post on Apr 27, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Designer Babies
A storm of protest broke out a month or so ago when a fertility clinic in Los Angeles announced it would start helping women choose what their babies might look like. The ruckus was loud enough that the clinic has since backed off on this service.
Post on Mar 30, 2009 by Dr. Barry Starr
Those Marvelous Mitochondria
This former free living bacterium now supplies our cells their energy.Current theories hold that life began on Earth around 3.5 billion years ago. About a billion years ago, a single celled beast engulfed and absorbed another single celled creature. We are all descended from that hijacking. The hijacked cell has over time become the mitochondrion. [...]
Post on Dec 22, 2008 by Dr. Barry Starr
