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New features on the PHG Foundation website in recent weeks are a facility for press releases and a blog aiming to give a broader picture of our work; our interactive tutorials on aspects of genetic testing and genomics are now available via YouTube, as well as from our website.
Genetic testing and screening
In August, the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) issued guidance on genetic testing in minors and sought input from the genetics community on this issue (8 August), while the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence and Health (NICE) recommended cascade screening for familial hypercholesterolaemia (3 September). Two centres in the US have announced plans to screen all newborns for Fragile X Syndrome for the next five years (19 September), and a new publication in the Centers for Disease Control’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report discusses the potential impact of the expanded newborn screening panel recommended in the US from 2005 (29 September). New research in the US has brought the prospect of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome and other aneuplodies close and generated much media attention (7 October).
Genetics and disease
Drug trials of a new treatment for cystic fibrosis have shown promise in alleviating symptoms (10 September), and research has suggested that aggressive breast cancers in younger women may be genetically distinct from other forms of the disease (2 September). Genetic epidemiological research has suggested a possible link between obesity and cancer risk via the adiponectin pathway (4 October), and a novel approach to identifying an individual’s DNA has led to new restrictions on access to genome-wide association study data, for fear of breaching confidentiality (18 September).
Cloning and stem cells
The US National Academies have released amended guidelines for research involving human stem cells (12 September), and the Australian government has granted the first licences for cloning of human embryos for the production of stem cell lines (22 September). A new publication reported the production of induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with a selection of single-gene, complex and chromosomal diseases (5 September), and in the UK a new public blood bank and research centre opened, the Anthony Nolan Stem Cell Therapy Centre (15 September).
Health ethics and strategy
The UK government has set out challenges and targets in a new strategy for improving global health, with proposed measures including policy development and knowledge-sharing (6 October), and funding for research into ethical, legal and social implications of the Human Microbiome Project has been announced (25 September).
Selected new reviews and commentaries
Our selection of recent articles of interest (9 October)
Other recent news and research
Study links gene variant to advanced macular degeneration
Statins may keep artery wall from aging, study says
Scientists uncover genetic link between colon cancer, obesity
Scientists decode genome of penicillin-making fungus
Patent disputes hinder innovation in life sciences
New Computer-Based Tools Will Help Make Best Use Of Genetic Breast Cancer Tests
Genetic clues to sleep disorder
Scientists find genetic marker for ovarian cancer
FDA to unveil guidelines on bioengineered animals
First Of 100 Arab Human Genomes Sequenced
Gene therapy holds promise for hereditary blindness
Scientists identify gene linked to colon cancer
Three biomarkers help identify early-stage lung cancer, study says
Gene raises resistance to chemotherapy medicine
Scientists: Gene may help determine organ rejection
Scientists link gene mutation to melanoma
Drug holds promise in reversing Huntington's
Childhood cancer genes pinpointed
Rare variants seen as next frontier in untangling genetic differences in HIV response
Studies: Cancer scientists should explore beyond mutations
Genetic Predisposition May Play A Role In Anxiety Disorders
Researchers discover key allergy gene
See also the Genomics & Health Weekly Update from the CDC Office of Public Health Genomics.
For our events listing, go to http://www.phgfoundation.org/events
Full listing of new additions to our website at: http://www.phgfoundation.org/whats_new.php
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