Concerns about ancestral DNA testing, by genetics society
November 15, 2008 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Evolution and Ancestry, Genetic Testing
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Did you know that Angelina Jolie is a distant cousin of Camilla the Duchess, Madonna, Shania Twain AND Hilary Clinton?
Man has an innate itch to find out where he came from, be it by evolution or ancestry. In a way it helps us connect with people from our past and gives us roots. So it’s no surprise that DNA testing for ancestry or population of origin has mushroomed in the past few years with the growth of direct-to-consumer companies.
Now, the American Society of Human Genetics is concerned about the implications of carrying out such tests without guidelines and oversight. The society presented a recommendation paper to the academe, and to the 30 companies involved in ancestral genetics testing.
Image credit: Newscom
New autism loci is "protective"
November 13, 2008 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Genetic Epidemiology, Mental health and Behavior
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It’s not too often in genetics that we hear about finding evidence that a gene lowers the risk of disease.
This latest news must have been greeted with cautionary hope at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in Philadelphia. According to the Scientist, a large-effect allele that provides protection against autism was found on chromosome 5 near the semaphorin 5A (SEMA5A) gene, which is involved in guiding neural axons during development. The same group also found two genes not previously linked to autism, one at the tip of chromosome 20’s short arm, and one at the end of chromosome 6’s long arm.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins University used the "the cleanest best set of SNP markers you can imagine" so presumably these results are accurate. Of course, as with most genetic studies, the findings have to be replicated and validated.
