I t was a strange moment of triumph against racism: The gun-slinging white supremacist Craig Cobb, dressed up for daytime TV in a dark suit and red tie, hearing that his DNA testing revealed his ancestry to be only 86 percent European, and 14 percent Sub-Saharan African. The studio audience whooped and laughed and cheered. And Cobb who was, in 2013, charged with terrorizing people while trying to create an all-white enclave in North Dakota reacted like a sore loser in the schoolyard. Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold on, just wait a minute, he said, trying to put on an all-knowing smile. This is called statistical noise. Then, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, hetook to the white nationalist website Stormfront to dispute those results. Thats not uncommon: With the rise of spit-in-a-cup genetic testing, theres a trend of white nationalists using these services to prove their racial identity, and then using online forums to discuss the results. advertisement But like Cobb, many are disappointed to find out that their ancestry is not as white as theyd hoped. In a new study, sociologists Aaron Panofsky and Joan Donovan examined years worth of posts on Stormfront to see … Continue reading →

Environment | News releases | Research | Science August 16, 2017 The documentary Chasing Coral, released on Netflix in July, is a cinematic warning about how the bleaching of coral reefs may foreshadow how these marine animals will respond to climate change. Corals are key to ocean health because they support the densest, most diverse ecosystems harboring species from turtles to algae to reef fish. University of Washington scientists are looking at the burgeoning field of coral genetics to better predict, and maybe even prepare for, corals future threats. Their new study uses modern genetic-sequencing tools to reveal the relatedness of three similar-looking corals. Porites porites can have spindlier branches (upper right) or thicker, knobbier branches (lower images). Scientists have debated whether or not they are the same species.James Dimond/University of Washington This coral appears to be three different species, but its been debated whether its really three separate species or whether its one thats really variable in its appearance, said first author James Dimond, a UW doctoral student in aquatic and fishery sciences. Defining a species matters for conservation, because you cant monitor and protect a species if you dont know it exists. In the past weve relied on … Continue reading →

Innovate UK has awarded a 2 million pound contract to Bath-based company, Atlas Genetics, for its diagnostic instrument (io System) and how to best adopt it into UK sexual health clinics. Atlas io system is a molecular diagnostic platform that rapidly diagnoses a broad range of infectious diseases. According to an Atlas spokesman, it offers results within 30 minutes, allowing clinical professionals to perform infectious disease tests that are as accurate as those carried out in hospital laboratories. The two-year contract will allow Atlas Genetics to collaborate with Aquarius Population Health, an independent health economics consultancy, and the Applied Diagnostic Research and Evaluation Unit (ADREU) at St Georges, University of London where they willresearch the benefits of point-of-care testing for sexual health. The company wants to further understand how to best integrate its io system into UK sexual health clinical practices and expand its research into diagnostic pathways within sexual health. The funding will also help Atlas develop its Multi-STI (MSTI) test ahead of clinical trials. The first of the various studies and evaluations conducted by St Georges using the io system started mid-2015. Atlas have collaborated with St Georges on variety of other projects including i4i, phase 1 of … Continue reading →

Industry needs to better understand the genetic differences behind high performing, selectively bred animals when developing feed, say scientists. Animals can be selectively bred to grow faster, grow to a specific size or even digest food better, among other things, but what most programs all have in common is the goal of feed efficiency. Dr Kim Bunter, senior scientist for the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit at University of New England, Australia, said it was vital feed manufacturers and others working with these improved animals, better understood animal genetics. If you dont understand genetics, you tend to have the global view that one diet fits all, at least within a class of animals, she told FeedNavigator. If you understand genetics, or even just the nature of variation between individuals - whether it be genetic or environmental in origin, then perhaps targeted or customized diets for animals would have more meaning. Bunter said that whilst the animal sector had customized diets for classes of animals with differences in weaner, grower and lactation diets, for example industry had yet to truly customize for high performing animals within that class. Animal longevity, she said, was an issue across industry with mortalities, lameness and … Continue reading →