An unlikely partnership could make more cancer patients eligible for clinical trials—and improve lives. The key is more accurately assessing patient frailty. Meredith Salisbury explains. More
Experts Note ‘Tremendous Progress’ on Cancer
Significant progress has been made in the fight against cancer in recent years, but funding, clinical trial access, and navigating increasingly complex data sets are among the latest challenges. "Now is an exceptional time in cancer research,” says the director of the National Cancer Institute, “the tremendous progress we have made … is amazing.” More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare Science
Why Thursday Is Rare Disease Day
With the exception of primetime medical dramas, you don’t hear much about rare diseases. But just because they’re “rare” — in the U.S., that’s a guideline used for diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans — doesn’t mean they’re scarce. Rare Disease Day, held this year on February 28th, raises awareness for rare diseases and reminds us that these conditions have an outsize impact. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare Opinion
Skeptics Unfairly Target UK Gene Sequencing Initiative
A new UK initiative has stirred debate about DNA analysis for healthy people. The program allows patients to pay to get their genome sequenced and analyzed if they agree to let the data be used in research. Author Salisbury says the UK controversy largely misses the point. More
Bio & Life Sciences Techonomy Events
We’re Close to Replacing the MRI with a Hat
How about replacing big, expensive MRI and other imaging equipment with a hat or a scarf? Mary Lou Jepsen showed the audience at Techonomy 2018 just how close it is to reality. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
Genomic Study Offers Hope for Millions with Rare Diseases
A new study makes the case that genomic medicine can be cost effective in diagnosing rare diseases, offering a potential alternative path for millions of patients worldwide. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
Critical Genomic Breakthrough Should Help Identify Disease Risk
A new report suggests that an innovative method of analyzing DNA will allow medical researchers to predict disease risk for far more people than can be done with conventional medical tests. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare Opinion
Why I Joined a Research Study — and You Should Too
In which our intrepid reporter gives her very blood to stay on the front lines of modern healthcare. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
New Cancer Concerns Shake Up CRISPR Prognosis
New studies connect gene editing with CRISPR technology to cancer, sending stocks plummeting and raising serious questions about the technology's potential. More
CRISPR Community Wrestles With Potential and Peril of Gene Editing
Scientists, academics and other stakeholders gathering in Boston lauded the potential of what CRISPR-powered innovation could offer society — and grappled with potential negative or unintended consequences from the still-nascent technology. More
I Got My Genetic Results. Now What? A Techonomy Guide
Genetic testing has become more mainstream and greater numbers of consumers are receiving their results — and left wondering what they mean and what to do with them. For those who need help navigating and understanding everything from so-called recreational genetic tests to potentially scary medical tests, this guide is for you. More
Bio & Life Sciences Community Insights
Happy 15th Birthday, Human Genome Project
This month marks the 15th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project. While the main goal of the project has not been fully realized, we are closer than ever to reaching it. Meredith Salisbury walks us through the ongoing benefits. More
Genomic Medicine’s Racial Inequality Problem: A Conversation with Malia Fullerton
The medical benefits of genomics go disproportionately to white people, while people of other ethnicities are more likely to receive inconclusive results because scientists don’t know enough about their genetic variation. We spoke with Malia Fullerton, a bioethicist and population genetics expert, about what can be done about it. More
Genomics Yields Insights About Ancient Humans
Scientists are using genomics to reconstruct the evolutionary history of humans. These findings shed new light on our past, and also yield insights into related species, like the Neanderthals as well as other ancient hominids. At the recent Advances in Genome Biology and Technology conference, Meredith Salisbury reports on the results. More
Bio & Life Sciences Community Insights
Why Science Wants to Sequence Your Dog
A citizen scientist project allows dog owners to contribute to the understanding of canine genetics, shedding light on the genetics and evolution of many related species. Further scientific understanding of the habits of mountain lions are underway and critical to the development of the species. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare Science
As Genomics Matures, Funding Priorities Will Shift
During the next two years, NHGRI will be using interactions with scientists and the public to take stock of the genomics field and where its funds can make the most difference. The landscape has shifted rapidly from the institute's early days, when it set the direction for much of the genomics community around the world. More
Bio & Life Sciences Innovation
India: A Wellspring of Untapped Genetic Knowledge
Now is a unique time in the history of world healthcare. We can sequence faster, and we can sequence at a lower cost. Indian genomic data will unlock more of life’s source code to benefit everyone. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
What’s Lurking in Your Genome?
It's still hard to know what to do about genetic news that's discovered about a patient during sequencing for another reason. A small percentage of such tests turn up disturbing findings. Some people want to know, some don't, but figuring out what to do often vexes doctors and researchers. Debate about how to handle this problem is growing within the genetics world. More
Bio & Life Sciences Healthcare
An Optimistic Gates Sees Promise in Genetics
At the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Bill Gates told 7,000 geneticists that the world needs them to up the pace of innovation in order to solve our most pressing health challenges. Early childhood death, malaria, and pandemics are all dangers that may be mitigated by progress in this realm, he said, showing his characteristic optimism. More
Funding Cuts—Even Threatened Ones—Wreak Havoc on Biomedical Science
The United States faces a biomedical funding crisis. The Trump administration has proposed budget cuts that would slash scientific research. Though Congress hasn't yet gone along, the fears that the process has generated are already causing tangible harm in the scientific community. Concern about cuts is stalling progress on drug discovery and other healthcare innovations. More
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