Logo by Ricardo at My Biotech Life

Gene Genie Genetics Carnival #33  is hosted by Mo from Neurophilosophy.  

Mo has a great series of genetics related articles from all the best genetics blogs in the world.  In this edition, there is a strong emphasis on cancer. There’s also a focus on leukodystrophy, and a special section on personalized genetics.

Well worth a read!

Elaine Warburton  www.geneticsandhealth.com

Logo credit: Ricardo @ mybiotechlife

A big thanks to Walter Jessen at Highlight Health for hosting this month’s Gene Genie genetics Carnival where Genetics and Health is included.  Walter has a great round-up of this months genetics’ news.

http://www.highlighthealth.com/blog-events/gene-genie-32-googling-the-genie/

Elaine Warburton  www.geneticsandhealth.com

(Image courtesy of Ricardo Vidal at My Biotech Life) 

Many thanks to Razib at Gene Expression for hosting Gene Genie#30, the carnival of genetics blogs. Click on the following link to get a great summary on all that is happening in the genetics blog word.  There are some great articles, including some from G&H.

http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2008/04/gene_genie_30.php

Here are links to all the previous Gene Genie Carnivals.

• Issue #1: Scienceroll
• Issue #2: Sciencesque
• Issue #3: Genetics and Health
• Issue #4: Sandwalk
• Issue #5: Neurophilosophy
• Issue #6: Scienceroll
• Issue #7: Gene Sherpa
• Issue #8: Eye on DNA
• Issue #9: DNA Direct Talk
• Issue #10: Genomicron
• Issue #11: Med Journal Watch
• Issue #12: My Biotech Life
• Issue #13: The Genetic Genealogist
• Issue #14: MicrobiologyBytes
• Issue #15: Cancer Genetics
• Issue #16: Neurophilosophy
• Issue #17: The Gene Sherpa
• Issue #18: Eye on DNA
• Issue #19: Scienceroll
• Issue #20: Bitesize Bio
• Issue #21: BabyLab
• Issue #22: Sandwalk
• Issue #23: Scienceroll
• Issue #24: biomarker-driven mental health 2.0
• Issue #25: The Gene Sherpa
• Issue #26: Sciencebase
• Issue #27: DNA Direct Talk
• Issue #28: Greg Laden’s Blog
• Issue #29: My Biotech Life
• Issue #30: Gene Expression

Happy reading!

Elaine Warburton  www.geneticsandhealth.com

Fellow science blogger Pharyngula has blogged this but I just have to show Genetics and Health readers this wonderful video showing dolphins’ version of home entertainment!

Elaine Warburton

Grace at Kids Health Notes and Kristina at Autism Vox have both written about the gene CNTNAP2 being unequivocally implicated in Type 1 Autism.

In her article CNTNAP2, an autism susceptibility gene which I highly recommend,  Kristina writes a personal account of her ongoing experience with her son Charlie’s autism and discusses the recent research findings.

Do read Grace’s article titled CNTNAP2 ‘unequivocally implicated’ in Type 1 autism which summarizes the three main pieces of research appearing in the American Journal of Genetics.

For the scientists:

Contactin Associated Protein-Like 2 is also known as CDFE; NRXN4; CASPR2; DKFZp781D1846. This gene encodes a member of the neurexin family which functions in the vertebrate nervous system as cell adhesion molecules and receptors. This protein, like other neurexin proteins, contains epidermal growth factor repeats and laminin G domains. In addition, it includes an F5/8 type C domain, discoidin/neuropilin- and fibrinogen-like domains, thrombospondin N-terminal-like domains and a putative PDZ binding site. This protein is localized at the juxtaparanodes of myelinated axons and associated with potassium channels. It may play a role in the local differentiation of the axon into distinct functional subdomains. This gene encompasses almost 1.5% of chromosome 7 and is one of the largest genes in the human genome. It may represent a positional candidate gene for the DFNB13 form of nonsyndromic deafness.

Genomic position - chromosome: 7; Location: 7q35-q36

Elaine Warburton

 (From The DNA Store)

b5’s Science and Health channel correspondents are coming together to bring you our Top 5 lists for Christmas and holidays … each of us with different slant!

Here at Genetics and Health we are recomneding the following …

Straight in at Number 1 and this has to be YOUR New Year’s resolution

….. if you’ve got a family history of health problems or are worried about any aspect of your health and wellbeing  - get yourself regularly checked out  - your good health is your number one priority. Only you can look after yourself!

Now for some festive gifts:

1. Total genome analysis ($350,000) - For the man or woman in your life that has everything www.gnome.com

2. Partial genome analysis ($1,000) - For the man or woman in your life that has everything but your purse doesn’t stretch to a second mortgage www.decodeme.com, www.23andme.com, www.navigenics.com

3. SNP analysis for certain diseases ($300) -  A perfect gift for your loved one to show them you want them around for years to come www.decode.com (diabetes and heart risk), www.intergenetics.com (breast cancer risk)

4.  DNA Archive ($175) - great for all the family and best still it lasts forever! Check out DNA Direct:    DNA Storage

5. Still uncertain? Then browse The DNA Store - there’s something for everyone that will suit every purse!

                                 (From The DNA Store)                                                                                                                            

Happy shopping!!

Elaine Warburton

Almost forgot to let you know that I guest posted in Gloria’s excellent Cancer Commentary.  I wrote about why African-American men are more predisposed to developing prostate cancer.

http://www.cancercommentary.com/2007/11/15/why-african-american-men-maybe-more-at-risk-of-developing-prostate-cancer/

Elaine

My fellow b5 Science and Health journalist Grace at Kids Health Notes wrote a most interesting article in response to Dr James Watson’s less than helpful comments on intelligence and culture which I have previously alluded to in my article Dr James Watson co-founder of DNA - retires

I would also like to add my opinion on genetics and its impact on individual cultures.  Although we have a fundamental right to freedom of speech, there are boundaries which should not be crossed for fear of causing immense offense. 

I believe cultures evolved and adapted to suit the environment they were inhabiting.  As these cultures migrated and settled around the world, they took their inherited behavioural traits with them.  Despite ’sprinkling nurture dust’ over them, inherited traits, having evolved over many thousands of years are deeply imprinted and will take many more thousands of years to remove.

Within each culture you will find ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ irrespective of race, creed or colour.  We should be embracing these wonderful differences, not mock them … after all if we were all the same, life would be insanely dull!

Elaine Warburton

Following my article on cervical cancer screening, there are further initiatives aiming to eradicate cervical cancer, an easily curable cancer, if caught early.

School girls aged 12-13 will be vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer from September 2008, the UK government has announced.

It is thought that vaccinating against the human papilloma virus (HPV) could save hundreds of lives each year.  The vaccine is given in 3 injections over 6 months at a cost of US$300 a course.

About 80% of sexually active women can expect to have an HPV infection at some point in their lives.  HPV is held responsible for some 70% cervical cancer cases - a disease which kills 274,000 women world-wide every year.

For much more information on the latest on cancer advances, treatment and support, please visit my fellow b5 Science and Health blogger Gloria Gamat at Cancer Commentary  www.cancercommentary.com 

She really has a fabbie blog!

Elaine Warburton BSc RN ACA

Cardiff University, Wales and Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest medical research charity have embarked on a project to scan the entire human genome in search of genes that pre-dispose people to, or protect them from developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

The team led by Professor Julie Williams will use a technique known as ‘genome-wide association scanning’ to analyse DNA samples taken from 14,000 people - 6,000 with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and 8,000 healthy ‘control’ samples from the UK and US.

It is very likely that they will find some unexpected associations as certain genes are involved in more than one form of dementia and that even genes that affect cholesterol levels can be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

For further information on this project  - Craig Brierly, Wellcome Trust

For even more amazing information, support, comments and latest advances in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, please visit my fellow b5 science and health channel bloggers Mary Emma Allen and Liz Lewis at Alzheimer’s Notes www.alzheimersnotes.com - they are awesome!

Elaine Warburton