I find it very interesting that today’s big news has to do with why only humans have the capacity for language. First found in a vocally-impaired family, scientists discovered a large gene they named “TOSPEAK” that may explain how humans are the only primates to develop language. Interesting I say because effective today, Genetics and Health will be retired, and in a nostalgic way, this is my last time “to-speak”. Even then, the field of genetics has never been so exciting as these times. Genetics has spread into the language of cancer, HIV/AIDS, behavior/psychological issues from smoking to addictions, from autism to chronic health problems, infections like the H1N1 and MRSA, organic versus modified foods, our... [Read more]

Scientists found a tiny mutation on a key gene that could potentially lead to type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and celiac disease and many autoimmune diseases. The interleukin-21 protein has been associated with the development of type 1 diabetes in mice. Scientists from the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia discovered that mice carrying the mutation spontaneously developed type 1 diabetes. When the mice DNA were sequenced they found a mutation, only two base pairs of DNA long, on the promoter region of IL-21 gene. Dr Cecile King, PhD student Helen McGuire and their colleagues then inserted the mutated DNA segment into a healthy IL-21 gene and observed that more IL-21 molecules were produced. When the gene segment was removed,... [Read more]

When I asked Genetics and Health readers to send a greetings to people they know who have survived or going through breast cancer, I knew I would hear from quite a few of you. And I was so touched by your prayers, greetings and short stories of triumph in behalf of your loved ones. Thank you to everyone who responded. Your family and friends are blessed to have people who care for them like you do. And thank you for participating in the Melange Perfume give-away as part of the “Think Pink Campaign” and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are the three winners, randomly chosen from 63 responses: Christine, who salutes her mom “she fought and won” Bridget Combs whose friend is a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, who had BC several... [Read more]

This is such a cool application of genetics! By sequencing all the genes of a patient, scientists diagnosed a congenital disease that could not be identified using clinical observations. Because of the “molecular diagnostics technique”, doctors were able to provide a treatment tailored for the disease.   The patient, an infant, was persistently dehydrated and failing to gain weight, and researchers uncovered a gene mutation that was responsible to the infant’s condition called congenital chloride diarrhea. Instead of sequencing all the thousand base pairs in a genome, researchers focused only on DNA that encodes proteins, about 1% of the total genome. DNA mutations in this region can result in a nonfunctional protein, and would have... [Read more]

The controversies on the danger of cell phones causing brain cancer do not seem to go away. Numerous studies have been done to prove, or disprove, the link between cell phone use and brain tumors, but so far no conclusion has been reached. The National Cancer Institute even has a fact sheet answering some of the concerns, and the Institute writes “studies have not shown any consistent link between cellular telephone use and cancer, but scientists feel that additional research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.” Now, however, a review of the existing studies on the topic found a harmful association between mobile phone use and the risk of tumors. Appearing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the review analyzed results from... [Read more]