This Week in CGREAL

a newsletter of the Center for Genetic Research Ethics & Law in the Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University

July 6 , 2007 

Home * Genetics in the News * Genetics in the Literature * Archive

Genetics in the News

Our Biotech Future (The New York Review of Books) "Here I am bold enough to make a definite prediction. I predict that the domestication of biotechnology will dominate our lives during the next fifty years at least as much as the domestication of computers has dominated our lives during the previous fifty years. ..."

Arguing For and Against Genetic Engineering (The Stanford Review) "Looking at both sides, the genetic engineering controversy does raise questions that should be answered, not shouted down. ..."

Tissue donation wrapped up in an ethical dilemma "The donation of blood, ova, sperm and other bodily tissues has the potential to build strong community bonds - but only when strong ethical safeguards are in place. ..." [Related: Reluctance of egg donors stymies Harvard efforts "A year after Harvard University scientists began trying to create cloned human embryonic stem cells, they have been stymied by their failure to persuade a single woman to donate her eggs for the groundbreaking but controversial research. ..."]

Gene-screening will be norm in 10 years, says DNA pioneer (The Guardian) "Personal DNA sequences will become a routine tool in the diagnosis of diseases within 10 years, according to the father of genetics, James Watson. ..." [Related: Who s Your Daddy? "The unintended consequences of genetic screening for disease ..."]

Genetic Diagnosis and Wrongful Life (Genetic Engineering News) "With the increasing use of genetic testing, specifically PGD, how does one protect itself against wrongful life claims? ..."

Pre-birth screening ethics debated"The Bioethics Council is starting work on the ethics of "pre-birth testing" which increasingly offers scope not only to detect deformity and disease but for parents to effectively select designer babies. ..."[Related: May We Choose Children for Sexual Orientation? "It seems hard to believe that in practice it won t lead to support of the idea that one ought to try not to have a gay child just as in practice the prenatal test for Down Syndrome has led to a general attitude that one ought to try not to have a child with Trisomy 21. ..."]

Fertility Patients Favor Donating Unused Embryos for Research (Washington Post) "About half the patients being treated at U.S. fertility clinics say they'd be willing to donate their unused embryos for stem cell research, a new survey reports. ..."

First baby born from egg matured in lab and frozen "The first test-tube baby created from an egg matured in the laboratory and then frozen has been born in Canada ..."

The fertility police: it s time to lock them away (London Times ) "Among all the arrogant, petty-minded interfering bureaucracies that clutter up life in the UK, it would be hard to conceive of one that has contributed more to the sum of human misery than the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the government watchdog overseeing everything from fertility treatment to genetic research. ..." [Related: Couples are driven to IVF tourism by ethical disparities across Europe (London Times ) "Universal regulations for fertility treatment are needed to reduce legal differences between countries that are encouraging reproductive tourism ..."]

Researchers may remake Neanderthal DNA - Yahoo! News "Researchers studying Neanderthal DNA say it should be possible to construct a complete genome of the ancient hominid ..."[Related: Mammoths to Return? DNA Advances Spur Resurrection Debate "Will we soon be able to bring such extinct species back to life? ..."]

Monkey stem cells cloned "Advance could renew enthusiasm for the field ..."

 [Related: Human therapeutic cloning moves closer to reality "If it works in monkey cells, why not in human cells too? It's proof of principle for human therapeutic cloning," ...""Missing link" stem cells may speed race for cures - Yahoo! News ]

FDA Moves To Ensure Safety of Supplements (Washington Post) "Makers Must Test Products for Purity ..."

Conflict Alleged in Drug Firms' Education Role - washingtonpost.com

"Drug companies have become the biggest sponsors of continuing medical education courses in recent years, even at the nation's top medical schools, a development that critics say raises health-care costs, skews doctors' treatment decisions and allows the industry to skirt laws against advertising "off-label" uses for its products. ..."

Making Manimals - washingtonpost.com "We're not doing these things because they're creepy. We're doing them because they're logical. The more you humanize animals, the better they serve their purpose as lab models of humanity. ...It's the future of medicine. ..." [Related: Chimera embryos have right to life, say bishops (Telegraph) "Human-animal hybrid embryos conceived in the laboratory - so-called chimeras - should be regarded as human and their mothers should be allowed to give birth to them, the Roman Catholic Church said . ..."]

Bioethics Forum - Human Nature and the Nature of Sports "Perhaps, after all, we should relinquish the search for a unifying theory of sports particularly one that can be formulated in three neat words and will explain in every case what s acceptable in sports and what s not. ..."

Genomics|Genetic Testing|EGAPP Stakeholders Group (ESG) "Your assistance is requested to identify individuals with specific interest in genomics to participate in the EGAPP Stakeholders Group (ESG), established as part of a pilot project, Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention (EGAPP). The EGAPP project is sponsored by the National Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal of the project is to establish and test a systematic, evidence-based process for evaluating genetic tests and other applications of genomic technology in transition from research to practice. ..."

Commentary Online Article - Jews & IQ An Exchange "Responses to Charles Murray s consideration of Jewish intelligence ..."

HIPAA audit: The 42 questions HHS might ask "In March, Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital became the first institution in the country to be audited for compliance with the security rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). ..."

Cord blood may preserve insulin levels in children with type 1 diabetes "Researchers got the idea in part from a patient s father who had read that scientists elsewhere were able to reverse diabetes in mice ...The man asked researchers whether giving a patient his or her own cord blood could have a similarly positive effect. ..."

Psychiatric Genomics Center established at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has received one of the largest gifts in its history to establish the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Genomics with the goal to unambiguously diagnose patients with psychiatric disorders based on their DNA sequence in 10 years time. ..."

Gut check: Tracking the ecosystem within us "Intestinal microbial communities varied widely from baby to baby ... important because it helps broaden the definition of healthy microbial colonization in a baby. ..."

Banking on Stem Cells - TIME"A San Francisco company announced Tuesday that they would be the first to offer IVF patients the option of growing, freezing and banking their own embryonic stem cells. ..." [Related: World s first stem cell library on deck "Mick Bhatia was handed $15 million to create the world s first human embryonic stem cell library at McMaster University ...Create a back-up copy of your immune system "Imagine having a spare copy of your immune system on ice. A company called Lifeforce has received permission from the FDA to do just that. The firm collects blood from healthy individuals, extracts the white blood cells and stores them as an insurance policy against future disease...."]

Looking Deep, Deep Into Your Genes "Discoveries about the impact of the environment on our DNA could revolutionize our concept of illness. ..."

Genealogy Seminar Tour Partners With Leading DNA Testing Company "Diversity Restoration Solutions and Slave Descendants Freedom Society announce they have partnered with Family Tree DNA to offer attendees of the Family Restoration Roundtable Educational Seminar series an opportunity to test their DNA for ancestral origins. The seminar series focuses on reconnecting families from the African Diaspora through the use of genealogy and history. ..."

Problems with Genome-Wide Association Studies "To achieve the clinical goal of personalized medicine, family data may be more informative than population data for identifying individual risks resulting from a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors and interactions ..."

Genetic Testing for Suicidal Tendencies "Scientists believe that genetic testing may identify those susceptible to serious side effects from antidepressants. ..."

A Conversation With Elizabeth H. Blackburn: Finding Clues to Aging in the Fraying Tips of Chromosomes (New York Times) "In my lab, we’re finding that psychological stress actually ages cells, which can be seen when you measure the wearing down of the tips of the chromosomes, those telomeres. ..." [Related: Blood test hailed as ageing breakthrough "The test, which essentially measures the level of damage to a person's DNA, can point to the likelihood of certain degenerative conditions, including cancer, developing later in life. ..." ]

You Don't Look A Day Over 900"Special Contributor Lloyd Garver Looks At Claims That The Sky Is The Limit For Life Expectancy ..." [Related: Age-old living concern "... only one thing that scares me more than death. It's the thought that I might live to be 100.. ..."]

Study finds estrogen therapy gives aging brain cells a boost "Cyclical, long-term estrogen injections protected brain cells from age-related deterioration ..." [Related: Doctors change course again on estrogen therapy - Los Angeles Times "Those who take the hormones shortly after menopause may benefit, researchers say, clarifying earlier findings that scared many away from the treatment.]

Gene deficiency is a protective barrier to obesity "A search for the molecular clues of longevity has taken researchers down a path that could explain why some people who consume excessive calories don’t gain weight. They also examined the effects of resveratrol in mice. ..."

Depression in kids of divorce blamed on genes (MSNBC.com) "The cause of the divorce and the depression might be the same: shared genes. ..." Gene Variant Increases Risk for Alcoholism Following Childhood Abuse "Girls with a particular variation of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene are more prone to developing alcoholism later in life after experiencing childhood sexual abuse. ..."

AIDS epidemic tied to gene that once protected us "Unfortunately, this protein that worked so well to protect humans against the ancient virus now appears to make us more susceptible to HIV. ..."

 

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Genetics in the Literature

 

(2007). "Meanings of 'life'." Nature 447(7148): 1031-1032.

..."

(2007). "Discriminating on genes." Nature 448(7149): 2-2.

"The United States is belatedly establishing necessary protections in law. Others, take note. ..."

Akey, J. M., S. Biswas, et al. (2007). "On the design and analysis of gene expression studies in human populations." Nat Genet 39(7): 807-808.

"To the Editor: ...we have reanalyzed the data in Spielman et al. to provide a common basis for comparison with our study. In doing so, we found that important issues arise about the accuracy of their results. ..."

Altshuler, D. and M. Daly (2007). "Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." Nat Genet 39(7): 813-815.

"Genome-wide association studies have identified dozens of common variants robustly associated with common diseases. Finding all such loci, and fully defining genotype-phenotype correlation, will be a key to translating initial clues into pathophysiological understanding and clinical prediction. ..."

Ball, P. (2007). "Synthetic biology: Designs for life." Nature 448(7149): 32-33.

"The genome of one bacterium has been successfully replaced with that of a different bacterium, transforming one species into another. This development is a harbinger of whole-genome engineering for practical ends. ..."

Bennett, P., C. Wilkinson, et al. "The Impact of Breast Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment on Intentions to Perform Cancer Surveillance Behaviors." Journal of Genetic Counseling

"Intentions to self-examine did not change following risk provision, although strength of intentions to engage in some other preventive behaviors did lessen. Family and General Practitioners appeared to be strong social influences on behavioral intentions, as were the perceived benefits of gaining reassurance and/or early detection of disease. ..."

Beyleveld, D. (2007). "Data Protection and Genetics: Medical Research and the Public Good." The King's Law Journal 18(2).

"This paper addresses three questions: (1) whether genetic data and genetic material are subject to data protection law; (2) whether genetics research for medical purposes constitutes a public good; and, having answered yes to both questions, (3) to what extent, and in what way, the value of medical genetics research as a public good justifies its exemption from or within data protection law. It argues that privacy/data protection values and medical research values are better viewed as being co-operative and mutually reinforcing rather than conflicting. ..."

Bradman, N. and M. G. Thomas (2007). "Y chromosome travelled north." Heredity 99(1): 3-4.

..."

Brownsword, R. (2007). "Genetic Databases: One for All and All for One?" The King's Law Journal 18(2).

"The paper compares the two kinds of genetic databases and current requirements for inclusion in them. It then assesses whether citizens should be compelled to contribute to public health genetic databases, either on the basis that this would prevent harm to others or on the basis of positive responsibilities to assist; and finally, whether this can be justified on the basis of the need for collective action. The conclusion reached is that, even if each step towards required participation in a population-wide multi-purpose national genetic database seems sound, we need to question whether such a policy would be contrary to the sustainability of a community of rights. . ..."

Campbell, A. V. (2007). "The Ethical Challenges of Genetic Databases: Safeguarding Altruism and Trust." The King's Law Journal 18(2).

"This article considers four key ethical questions and their implications for governing population genetic databases: (1) the nature of consent; (2) participants’ ongoing relationships with such projects, particularly in relation to feedback of results; (3) control over access to data and biosamples; and (4) participant and public influence over the use of such resources. It then argues that two broader ethical themes—altruism and trust—in fact underpin population genetic databases, and emerge from examining the ethical issues. ..."

Caulfield, T. (2007). "Biobanks and Blanket Consent: The Proper Place of the Public Good and Public Perception Rationales." The King's Law Journal 18(2).

"This paper addresses the question of whether moving away from traditional, informed consent to a “blanket consent” regime for participation in large-scale biobanks is legally and ethically justifiable. Too often, the rationales are put forward without proper reflection on, or appreciation of, the core legal and ethical principles that underlie existing norms, especially autonomy. ..."

Chan, C. S., J. N. Guzman, et al. (2007). "/`Rejuvenation/' protects neurons in mouse models of Parkinson/'s disease." Nature 447(7148): 1081-1086.

..."

Check, E. (2007). "Cancer atlas maps out sample worries." Nature 447(7148): 1036-1037.

"(NCI) has confirmed that its much-heralded cancer genome atlas is off to a slow start. And scientists say that the obstacles facing the project are just a taste of those that will soon confront all researchers who use large-scale methods to analyse material from tissue banks. ..."

Christianson, D. J. (2007). "Disability income insurance: the private market and the impact of genetic testing." J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 40-6.

"This article discusses the disability insurance industry in order to provide context regarding the potential impact of genetic testing on disability insurance. It describes disability income insurance, exploring both the protection it offers and its main contract provisions. It goes on to describe the private insurance market and the differences between group and individual insurance, and concludes with implications of genetic testing with respect to the private disability insurance market. ..."

Clark, A. G. and J. Li (2007). "Conjuring SNPs to detect associations." Nat Genet 39(7): 815-816.

"A new report describes an especially promising approach that uses the correlated structure of genomic variation to impute genotypes at missing sites and to test association with both observed and imputed SNPs. ..."

Cole, A. (2007). "Scientists plead for right to create interspecies embryos." BMJ 334(7607): 1294-.

"The Academy of Medical Sciences says there are no "substantive ethical or moral" reasons why research on human embryos containing animal material should not be carried out under exactly the same regulatory framework that exists for other work with embryos. ..."

Dodge, J. H. and D. J. Christianson (2007). "Genetic testing and disability insurance: an alternative opinion." J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 33-5.

"As members of the Working Group on Genetic Testing in Disability Insurance, the authors of this alternative opinion describe their areas of disagreement with some of the conclusions in the paper written by Susan M. Wolf and Jeffrey P. Kahn. ..."

Easton, D. F., K. A. Pooley, et al. (2007). "Genome-wide association study identifies novel breast cancer susceptibility loci." Nature 447(7148): 1087-1093.

..."

Eltis, K. (2007). "Genetic Determinism and Discrimination: A Call to Re-Orient Prevailing Human Rights Discourse to Better Comport with the Public Implications of Individual Genetic Testing." The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 35(2): 282-294.

"Is there a risk of collective stigmatization deriving from discrete testing of self-identified individuals? Would such stigmatization impinge on individual dignity by the exogenous imposition of ethnic or gender/sexual identity? If so, what norms can most adequately respond if and when individual and group interests diverge? These questions are examined from a comparative perspective. ..."

Evans, W. (2007). "Singularity Warfare: A Bibliometric Survey of Militarized Transhumanism." Journal of Evolution and Technology 16(1).

"Although strategists in all camps must begin to plan for the possible impacts of such technologies if they wish to stay relevant and ready on a global scale, the impact of transhuman values is all but nonexistent in the military literature. ..."

Fu, H., L. Kang, et al. (2007). "Significantly increased lifespan and improved behavioral performances by rAAV gene delivery in adult mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB mice." Gene Ther 14(14): 1065-1077.

..."

Gilbar, R. (2007). "Communicating genetic information in the family: the familial relationship as the forgotten factor." J Med Ethics 33(7): 390-393.

"This paper advocates the adoption of a relational perception of autonomy, which, in the context of genetics, takes into account the effect that any decision--whether to disclose or not to disclose--will have on the familial relationship and the dynamics of the particular family. Adding this factor to the criteria usually advocated by lawyers and ethicists will facilitate reaching a sensitive decision, which recognises the various interests of family members beyond the risk to physical health. This will require a process of deliberation both between doctors and patients, and in the family. It will also require a relaxation of medical confidentiality, as the family rather than the patient is gradually perceived as the unit of care. ..."

Henikoff, S. (2007). "ENCODE and our very busy genome." Nat Genet 39(7): 817-818.

"The much-anticipated publication of the ENCODE pilot project, representing a detailed and comprehensive characterization of 1% of the human genome, has demonstrated how little we truly understand about how our genes are regulated. ..."

Holden, C. (2007). "EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS: Stem Cell Science Advances as Politics Stall." Science 316(5833): 1825-.

..."

Hewison, J. et al (2007). "Attitudes to prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality: a comparison of white and Pakistani women in the UK." Prenatal Diagnosis 27(5): 419-430.

"To compare the attitudes of women from two different ethnic backgrounds to prenatal testing for a range of conditions, and to see if clusters of attitudes to different conditions could be identified, for which prenatal testing might be offered as a package.Women in the study wanted to make up their own minds about the conditions that to them merited testing or termination. ..."

Kahn, J. P. and S. M. Wolf (2007). "Understanding the role of genetics in disability insurance." J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 5.

..."

Kass, N. and A. Medley (2007). "Genetic screening and disability insurance: what can we learn from the health insurance experience?" J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 66-73.

"Genetic information may be used by health and disability insurance companies to deny or restrict coverage. How health insurance companies use genetic information, and how public policy has limited that use, can be illustrative for genetics and disability insurance policy. ..."

Katsiki, M., N. Chondrogianni, et al. (2007). "The Olive Constituent Oleuropein Exhibits Proteasome Stimulatory Properties In Vitro and Confers Life Span Extension of Human Embryonic Fibroblasts." Rejuvenation Research 10(2): 157-172.

..."

Kaye, J. and S. McGibbons (2007). "Governing Genetic Databases: Collection, Storage and Use." The King's Law Journal 18(2).

"It notes the lack of any clear, coherent or coordinated legal governance regime, either at the national or international level. It then identifies and reflects on key cross-cutting issues and themes that emerge from the five papers, in particular: terminology and definitions; consent; special concerns around population genetic databases (biobanks) and forensic databases; international harmonisation; data protection; data access; boundary-setting; governance; and issues around balancing individual interests against public good values. ..."

Knoppers, B. M., M. n. H. Abdul-Rahman, et al. (2007). "Genomic Databases and International Collaboration." The King's Law Journal 18(2).

"A review of existing norms at the international level—in particular, around benefit sharing and access to data—and their application in different countries, reveals areas of both convergence and divergence. But, most of all, it reveals the need for international harmonisation in order to secure interoperability and the public participation, trust and investment in such large initiatives that are crucial to their success. ..."

Kohut, K., M. Manno, et al. (2007). "Should healthcare providers have a duty to warn family members of individuals with an HNPCC-causing mutation? A survey of patients from the Ontario Familial Colon Cancer Registry." J Med Genet 44(6): 404-407.

"Patients undergoing genetic testing for HNPCC generally understand that relatives could benefit from being informed of genetic risk, but may not be willing or able to inform each family member. Healthcare professionals should engage patients in a discussion of familial implications before genetic testing. An agreement should be formulated regarding which of the relatives should be informed. Patients should be encouraged to personally disseminate the information, given the unrealistic burden on practitioners to perform this task and patients' preference for control over the information. ..."

Lartigue, C., J. I. Glass, et al. (2007). "Genome Transplantation in Bacteria: Changing One Species to Another." Science: 1144622.

"As a step toward propagation of synthetic genomes, we completely replaced the genome of a bacterial cell with one from another species by transplanting a whole genome as naked DNA. . ..."

Ling, S. M., E. M. Simonsick, et al. (2007). "A Painful Interface Between Normal Aging and Disease." J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 62(6): 613-615.

..."

Lucassen, A. and J. Kaye (2006). "Genetic testing without consent: the implications of the new Human Tissue Act 2004." J Med Ethics 32(12): 690-692.

..."

Magalhaes, J. P. d., J. M. Sedivy, et al. (2007). "A Proposal to Sequence Genomes of Unique Interest for Research on Aging." J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 62(6): 583-584.

..."

Martin, C. K., S. D. Anton, et al. (2007). "Examination of Cognitive Function During Six Months of Calorie Restriction: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial." Rejuvenation Research 10(2): 179-190.

..."

Merlo, D. F., L. E. Knudsen, et al. (2007). "Ethics in studies on children and environmental health." J Med Ethics 33(7): 408-413.

"The important ethical issues are information of participants and consent to participate. Follow-up and protection of data (samples and information derived from samples) should be discussed in the context of biobanks, where children obtain individual rights when they become adults. It is important to realise that there are highly variable practices within European countries, which may have, in the past, led to differences in practical aspects of research in children. A number of recommendations are provided for research with children and environmental health. . ..."

Miller, P. S. (2007). "Genetic testing and the future of disability insurance: thinking about discrimination in the genetic age." J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 47-51.

"This article considers the future of genetic testing and disiblity insurance, and explores the potential for discrimination when using genetic information. ..."

Moller, P., A. I. Hagen, et al. "Genetic epidemiology of BRCA mutations - family history detects less than 50% of the mutation carriers." European Journal of Cancer In Press, Corrected Proof.

"Ten BRCA mutations were demonstrated to be frequent in the Norwegian population. Uptake of testing was 80% and 23% were mutation carriers. Twenty-one (88%) were outside families previously known. Twelve (67%) did not meet clinical criteria to be selected for testing. All patients with mutation collaborated actively to give our offer of predictive genetic testing to their relatives. No complaint on the activity was received. ..."

Nordlund, C. (2007). "Endocrinology and expectations in 1930s America: Louis Berman's ideas on new creations in human beings." Br J Hist Sci 40(144 Pt 1): 83-104.

"Inspired by the approach of social studies of techno-scientific expectations, the aim of this article is to explore some of the great expectations connected to the development of endocrinology in the 1930s. The paper argues that Berman thought not only that it was perfectly possible to understand human nature through hormone analysis but that endocrinologists would be able to control, design and 'improve' humans by using hormone replacement therapy. ..."

Ostwald, S. K. (2007). "Preserving patient autonomy and privacy in the era of genetic discoveries." J Gerontol Nurs 33(5): 3.

..."

Palmer, C., E. M. Bik, et al. (2007). "Development of the Human Infant Intestinal Microbiota." PLoS Biology 5(7): e177.

"Almost immediately after a human being is born, so too is a new microbial ecosystem, one that resides in that person gastrointestinal tract. We profilde the microbial communities in 14 healthy, full-term human infants, including a pair of dizygotic twins, beginning with the first stool after birth and continuing at defined intervals throughout the first year of life. The composition and temporal patterns of the microbial communities varied widely from baby to baby. .. ..."

Rottenberg, H. (2007). "Exceptional longevity in songbirds is associated with high rates of evolution of cytochrome b, suggesting selection for reduced generation of free radicals." J Exp Biol 210(12): 2170-2180.

"While one might think that metabolic rate and longevity are linked - run faster, wear out faster - that isn't the case. Contrary to expectation, in several mammalian taxa, exceptional longevity is associated with high basal metabolic rate, and also fast evolution of mtDNA-coded proteins. . ..."

Saukko, P. M., S. Ellard, et al. (2007). "Patients' understanding of genetic susceptibility testing in mainstream medicine: qualitative study on thrombophilia." BMC Health Serv Res 7(1): 82.

"Policy visions of clinicians and patients in mainstream medicine seeking and using genetic information at their own initiative may not be realistic. Patients need more direct support in making sense of genetic information, if this information is to bring the anticipated health benefits, and not fuel health inequalities or create ethical problems. Clinicians in secondary and primary care need guidance to help them introduce genetic tests, communicate their results and explain their implications. ..."

Scherer, L., J. J. Rossi, et al. (2007). "Progress and prospects: RNA-based therapies for treatment of HIV infection." Gene Ther 14: 1057-1064.

..."

Sedo, K. J. (2007). "Workers' Compensation, Social Security Disability, SSI, and Genetic Testing." J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 74-9.

"This article argues that the use of genetic testing to determine eligibility for worker compensation and/or social security disability benefits would seriously undermine the social purposes of the laws. ..."

Shanawani, H., L. Dame, et al. (2006). "Non-reporting and inconsistent reporting of race and ethnicity in articles that claim associations among genotype, outcome, and race or ethnicity." J Med Ethics 32(12): 724-728.

"Of the 268 published reports reviewed, it was found that 192 (72%) did not explain their methods for assigning race or ethnicity as an independent variable. This was despite the fact that 180 (67%) of those reports reached conclusions about associations among genetics, health outcome and race or ethnicity. More attention needs to be given to the definition of race and ethnicity in genetic studies, especially in those diseases where health disparities are known to exist. ..."

Silvers, A. (2007). "Predictive genetic testing: congruence of disability insurers' interests with the public interest." J Law Med Ethics 35(2 Suppl): 52-8.

"This article argues that, under existing jurisprudence, the disability insurance business will be harmed, not benefited, from broad access to the results of genetic testing identifying people with higher than species-typical genetic propensities for illness. ..."

Sisodiya, S. M., P. J. Thompson, et al. (2007). "Genetic enhancement of cognition in a kindred with cone-rod dystrophy due to RIMS1 mutation." J Med Genet 44(6): 373-380.

"RIMS1 encodes a synapse active-zone protein with important roles in the maintenance of normal synaptic function: mice lacking this protein have greatly reduced learning ability and memory function. A possible role for RIMS1 in the enhancement of cognitive function at least in this kindred is suggested. Although further work is clearly required to explore these findings before a role for RIMS1 in human cognition can be formally accepted, the findings suggest that genetic mutation may enhance human cognition in some cases. ..."

Thomas, R. G. (2007). "Effect on premiums is small." BMJ 334(7607): 1288-.

..."

Warner, H. R. (2007). "If You Wish to Live a Long Time in Good Health, Choose Your Parents Carefully." J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 62(6): 575-576.

..."

Whitfield, J. (2007). "Fossils challenge DNA in the dating game " Nature 447: 894.

"Findings revives debate on when modern mammals evolved ..."

Wilkes, R. (2007). "SENS: An Engineer's Point of View on Feasibility and Bioethics Dialogue." Rejuvenation Research 10(2): 235-236.

" ... I agree that the bioethics community has not significantly discussed questions raised by the elongation of the human lifespan ... ..."

Zimmern, J. (2007). "Consent and Autonomy in the Human Tissue Act 2004." The King's Law Journal 18(2)

"This paper analyses the Human Tissue Act 2004. In particular it discusses the adequacy of a consent-based model to justify its provisions. The paper argues that consent is a legal concept that serves to protect the interests of a living individual and is inappropriate as a tool for regulating the use of tissue obtained or used in post-mortem situations. It is argued that the concept fails to acknowledge the wider, familial nature of the information generated through the analysis of DNA and that the consent requirements within the Act fail to take account of all the relevant interests engaged by the potential uses of human tissue. ..."

 

 

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