From principles to practice: the shifting regulatory landscape for consumer genetics

Earlier this month the UK's Human Genetics Commission (HGC) published a new document entitled 'A Common Framework of Principles for Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Services' in a bid to define standards for this emergent sector...[Read More]

Study questions screening for Fragile X Syndrome

Genetic counselling for women and parents undergoing Fragile X syndrome (FXS) screening needs improvement, according to a recent review. The review also called for more studies into the benefits of population-wide screening for FXS...[Read More]

US Government body criticises genetic test firms

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests were called into question by the US authorities last week. An undercover investigation by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that test results were often inaccurate and misleading....[Read More]

California halts genetic testing of students

Proposals to genetically test incoming freshman and transfer students to the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), are under fire. UCB intended to offer a genetic test to its thousands of entrants, which would test three variants: genes that affect the ability to absorb folic acid, metabolise alcohol and digest lactose....[Read More]

Huntington's disease more common than previously thought

Two papers published in the Lancet have suggested that the number of people in the UK suffering with Huntington’s disease (HD) may be double original figures and that patients are failing to be diagnosed due to the stigma attached to the illness...[Read More]

FDA questions five US companies about unapproved genetic testing

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told five US companies that the genetic tests they sell directly to consumers are unapproved....[Read More]

Concerns about genetic testing on freshers at Berkeley

The University of California at Berkeley has recently received a great deal of attention for its revised curriculum for incoming first years which will offer students the opportunity to have a DNA sample analyzed for genetic variants...[Read More]

US woman accuses employer of genetic discrimination after breast cancer test

A Connecticut woman who had a voluntary double mastectomy after genetic testing is alleging her employer wrongfully terminated her job after learning she carried a gene implicated in breast cancer...[Read More]

US judge overturns gene patents

A US judge has invalidated a genetic testing company's patents on two breast cancer genes...[Read More]

Genetic information doesn't improve breast cancer risk prediction, large study finds

Breast cancer risk prediction does not improve significantly when genetic information is included in the risk prediction model, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found....[Read More]

Canada considers genetic discrimination law

Canadians need better protection from genetic discrimination by insurers and employers, according to Winnipeg North MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis... [Read More]

Gene patent lawsuit starts next week

A landmark US lawsuit is due to begin this week in New York which will question the right of private companies to hold patents on disease-related genes and their exclusive license rights to be the sole provider of genetic tests for those diseases. Last May, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Public Patent Foundation, filed a legal action that challenged seven US patents for two genes linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. The action was lau...[Read More]

Genetic test helps predict risk of death from prostate cancer

A combination of three genetic alterations that dramatically reduce chances of surviving prostate cancer have been identified by researchers at the UK's Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). It is hoped that this finding could lead to the development of a genetic test to help doctors decide how aggressively to treat tumours....[Read More]

So are we making progress?

The contemporary media is increasingly flooded with stories where the cause, explanation or hope involves genetics. With all the reporting of genetic findings and its 'potential' to improve clinical care - has genetics really led to a marked improvement in our healthcare? And should genetic determinism be the focus of scientific research?...[Read More]

The Government's response 'largely restates past achievements'

The report from the UK House of Lords' Science and Technology Committee Inquiry into Genomic Medicine argued that rapid developments in genetic science require a new strategy for its delivery within health services and research. The Government's response to the Report largely restates past achievements and seems to suggest that minor modifications of current processes will allow delivery of the benefits of advances in knowledge....[Read More]

Postmortem genetic testing recommended for sudden cardiac death families

Postmortem genetic testing of people who have suffered sudden unexplained death (SUD) is a more effective and cost-efficient means of identifying genetic abnormalities that place surviving relatives at risk of fatal heart rhythm disturbances, a new study presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando, US, suggests....[Read More]

Call to improve accuracy of predictive genetic tests

Companies offering 'direct-to-consumer' genetic tests to predict the risk of common conditions such as heart attack and rheumatoid arthritis should provide more information to consumers about the limitations of their services, say US scientists. Their recommendations follow the finding that several tests from two such companies gave different results for the same five individuals. Genome pioneer Craig Venter and colleagues also call for more research into the predictive power of geneti

A 'Common Framework of Principles' for direct-to-consumer genetic tests

The UK's Human Genetics Commission (HGC), the Government's advisory body on new developments in human genetics and how they impact on individuals' lives, is seeking views on a 'Common Framework of Principles' for direct-to-consumer genetic tests...[Read More]

Genetic testing of children prior to adoption

Recently, a new angle to the many and varied debates over predictive genetic testing has emerged. A number of clinical geneticists in the UK have been requested to undertake genetic tests on children who are up for adoption. When advised that these tests were not in the interests of the children concerned, several local authorities obtained court orders enforcing the tests....[Read More]