Tag Archives: dna

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

I agree with restricting the use of genetic information for things like insurance – US to outlaw corporate prejudice based on genes:

Soon it will be illegal to deny US citizens jobs or insurance simply because they have an inherited illness, or a genetic predisposition to a particular disease.

On 25 April, the House of Representatives voted 420 to 3 to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The Senate is expected to endorse the act within a few weeks, which is also supported by President Bush. “I am so stunned by the majority,” says Sharon Terry, president of the Genetic Alliance, a charity lobbying for the rights of people with inherited illnesses.

Genetic information can provide valuable information about risks. It is not often that I am for saying people should be prohibited from using information that would aid them in making better decisions. However it can be the best public policy to require insurance companies to be prohibited from using information that would allow them to better access risks and price insurance accordingly. So those that know they have such genetic risks will be paying less than they would if the insurance companies were allowed to use that information and everyone else will pay more (to cover for those with the increased risk). I think that is the best policy for the society. However it is not really about outlawing corporate prejudice it is about saying that we will have everyone is society share the cost of risks rather than those that can be identified as greater health risks.

Thinking this is about preventing bad corporate behavior seems to me an attempt to change the focus of the real issue. And that is not a good idea because this is a complex area that we are going to have to make a wide number of decisions about as a society. Pretending the issue is simple does society a disservice. This is an large economic issue and what choices various societies decided to make will be debated extensively for quite some time I believe..

Related: Improving the heath care system posts (from our management blog) – post about health care (from this blog)

RNA interference webcast

If you are like me, it might take awhile to understand all that is said, it is packed with information.

via: Video of RNAi in action

Disrupting the Replication of Bacteria

UW-Madison researchers develop novel method to find new antibiotics:

Filutowicz’s approach involves looking for new drugs that render bacteria harmless by blocking the replication of—and thus eliminating—some of their DNA.

Bacterial DNA comes in two forms: chromosomal DNA, which is required for life, and plasmid DNA, which is not. The nonessential plasmid DNA contains many undesirable bacterial genes, including those that confer antibiotic resistance or lead to the production of toxins.

Filutowicz is seeking antibiotics that would selectively disrupt the replication of plasmid DNA, so that when bacteria reproduce, they would produce plasmid-free offspring that are harmless or susceptible to traditional antibiotics. Such compounds could dramatically alter the character of some of our nastiest microbial adversaries.

DNA Offers New Insight Concerning Cat Evolution

DNA Offers New Insight Concerning Cat Evolution, Nicholas Wade, New York Times:

Before DNA, taxonomists had considerable difficulty in classifying the cat family. The fossil record was sparse and many of the skulls lacked distinctiveness. One scheme divided the family into Big Cats and Little Cats. Then, in 1997, Dr. Johnson and Dr. O’Brien said they thought most living cats fell into one of eight lineages, based on the genetic element known as mitochondrial DNA.

Having made further DNA analyses, the researchers have drawn a full family tree that assigns every cat species to one of the lineages. They have also integrated their tree, which is based solely on changes in DNA, with the fossil record. The fossils, which are securely dated, allow dates to be assigned to each fork in the genetic family tree.
…
The leopard lineage appeared around 6.5 million years ago in Asia. The youngest of the eight lineages, which led eventually to the domestic cat, emerged some 6.2 million years ago in Asia and Africa, either from ancestors that had never left Asia or more probably from North American cats that had trekked back across the Bering land bridge.

Photos from Curious Cat Travel Photos – Kenya