USC Institute of Genetic Medicine Exhibition "Molecular and Social Systems" Molecular and Social Systems: Learning through Creative Exploration The University of Southern California University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine Institute for Genetic Medicine... By: Professor Marcela Oliva … Continue reading →

Read the article in full. From the Telegraph Genomics are not overhyped: they really can change medicine It is correct that science has not made as much progress as had been hoped in unlocking the genetic factors that contribute to most common diseases. But quite staggering progress has been made elsewhere. In three areas in particular cancer, rare congenital diseases and infections the plummeting cost of reading DNA and sciences growing ability to interpret it is already transforming medical practice. The Genomics England project is about bringing these benefits to NHS patients, and enabling further scientific discoveries to emerge from their care. Read the article in full. From the Guardian What we can all gain from personal genetics Learning about your genetics enables you to optimize your health. It will take us decades to understand all 3bn base pairs in the human genome, but today we already know what thousands of important genetic differences mean for individuals. We know that genes affect your risk for conditions like cystic fibrosis and breast cancer, and we know how your genes affect your responses to drugs like Warfarin. As genetic testing becomes more affordable, more people can benefit from understanding their genetics and … Continue reading →

63281949 story Posted by timothy on Saturday August 02, 2014 @12:08AM from the looking-for-the-true-descendants-of-arthur dept. mrspoonsi (2955715) writes A project aiming to revolutionise medicine by unlocking the secrets of DNA is under way in centres across England. Prime Minister David Cameron has said it "will see the UK lead the world in genetic research within years". The first genetic codes of people with cancer or rare diseases, out of a target of 100,000, have been sequenced. Experts believe it will lead to targeted therapies and could make chemotherapy "a thing of the past". Just one human genome contains more than three billion base pairs the building blocks of DNA. Prof Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said: "I can see a future where genetics is going to come into every bit of medicine from cardiology to oncology to infectious diseases." "Twenty years from now there's going to be a plethora of those, we will have a series of mutations which academics and industry will have developed therapies for, which will be targeted at you and specific for that cancer." He said chemotherapy, which attacks all dividing cells in the body, would be replaced with such therapies. "We will look … Continue reading →

By Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Babies born with so-called "bubble boy" disease can often be cured with a stem cell transplant, regardless of the donor -- but early treatment is critical, a new study finds. Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), as the condition is medically known, actually refers to a group of rare genetic disorders that all but eliminate the immune system. That leaves children at high risk of severe infections. The term "bubble boy" became popular after a Texas boy with SCID lived in a plastic bubble to ward off infections. The boy, David Vetter, died in 1984 at the age of 12, after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant -- an attempt to give him a functioning immune system. Today, children with SCID have a high chance of survival if they receive an early stem cell transplant, researchers report in the July 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In the best-case scenario, a child would get stem cells -- the blood-forming cells within bone marrow -- from a sibling who is a perfect match for certain immune-system genes. But that's not always an option, partly because kids with SCID are … Continue reading →