Could A New Genetics Test Tell You Your Child Is The Next Sports Phenom Seattle Japanese firm developing cancer drug and autism Orphan Diseases Often Caused By EssentialToSurvival Gene Mutations $1 Million Shaw Prize Shared Internationally Acclaimed Immunologists in essential genes often cause rare diseases Genome sequence could reveal 'Achilles' heels' of important wheat disease Autism's Tangled Full Rare Varied Offer Clues to E. coli Outbreak Notes from ASCO Plays With Legos mutations boys another disorder girls researchers suggest GnuBIO Announces Delivery Of First Early Access Desktop DNA Sequencing System To Montreal Heart Institute Scientists find new genetic clues Renaissance Man How Become a Scientist Over Again acclaimed immunologist shares million Saving wildlife with forensic genetics

Do you think your child might have a bit of what it takes to "Be Like Mike" or to "Bend It Like Beckham"? Well, a Boulder, Colo., company says it has a test that can provide some clues -- a genetic test involving a quick swab of the cheek could indicate whether your Little Leaguer has big league potential or if your child's hoop dreams can come true. Seattle Genetics, Japanese firm developing cancer drug Dr. Steven Novella on recent research into the genetics of autism. (Via Steve Silberman.)... So-called orphan diseases are rare and frequently deadly because often there are mutations in essential-to-survival genes, researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center explain in The American Journal of Human Genetics. In the USA, an orphan disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 of its citizens. The researchers in this study say their findings differ vastly from what we know about mutations that have occurred in non-essential genes being drivers of common diseases that have higher prevalence rates... Dr. Bruce Beutler, an internationally recognized leader in immunology recruited to be the director of a new Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is one of three winners to share the $1 million 2011 Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine for their work on innate immunity. The prize was announced in Hong Kong on June 7, and an award ceremony will be held Sept. 28. "I am very honored to receive this award, recognizing work my colleagues and I carried out at UT Southwestern beginning in the early 1990s," said Dr. Beutler... (_Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center_) Mutations in genes essential to survival are behind so-called orphan diseases, explaining in part why these diseases are rare and often deadly, according to a study appearing in the American Journal of Human Genetics. (_Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council_) Research published in PLoS Genetics today (June 9) provides insights into how an important fungal disease is able to evade wheat's defenses. The researchers hope that the study, which reveals the fungus' complete genome sequence, will enable them to breed resistant crop plants or improve the use of pesticides. The underpinnings of autism are turning out to be even more varied than the disease's diverse manifestations. In four new studies and an analysis published June 8 researchers have added some major landmarks in the complex landscape of the disease, uncovering clues as to why the disease is so much more prevalent in male children and how such varied genetic mutations can lead to similar symptoms. [More] The culprit behind Europe's deadly E. coli outbreak appears to be an evolved and extremely toxic version of a bug first identified in Münster, Germany, in 2001, according to genetic analyses. The model of an antibody conjugate required 85,000 Legos, mostly green ones. Autism spectrum disorders can be caused by as many as 300 or so rare genetic mutations, scientists reported Wednesday. The research strongly implicates genetics, including spontaneous gene mutations, in the development of the disorder. At the 3rd Annual Consumer Genetics Conference, GnuBIO announced it will deliver the Company's first Early Access Sequencing system to the Université de Montréal Pharmacogenomics Centre Laboratory at the Montreal Heart Institute by July 2011. This unique desktop DNA sequencing system is being designed for the point-of-care market, and will enable physicians to make genetic determinations on patients' pre-dispositions within an hour - as opposed to waiting more than a week for results... Scientists have uncovered what they say could be important new genetics clues about autism. In a set of three papers being published in Thursday's issue of the journal Neuron, researchers at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Yale University and Columbia University report provocative results from analyses of the genes from about 1,000 families. They hope the findings can lead to important insights into what causes the disorder and possibly better treatments. Autism can be a devastating condition marked by difficulties interpreting common social cues and interacting with other people. Read full article >> Erez Lieberman Aiden is a talkative, witty fellow who will bend your ear on any number of intellectual topics. Just don't ask him what he does. "This is actually the most difficult question that I run into on a regular basis," he says. "I really don't have anything for that." It is easy to understand why. Aiden is a scientist, yes, but while most of his peers stay within a specific field - say, neuroscience or genetics - Aiden crosses them with almost casual abandon. His research has taken him across molecular biology, linguistics, physics, engineering and mathematics. He was the man behind last year's " culturomics " study, where he looked at the evolution of human culture through the lens of four per cent of all the books ever published. Before that, he solved the three-dimensional structure of the human genome , studied the mathematics of verbs, and invented an insole called the iShoe that can diagnose balance problems in elderly people. "I guess I just view myself as a scientist," he says. [More] (_UT Southwestern Medical Center_) Dr. Bruce Beutler, an internationally recognized leader in immunology recruited to be the director of a new Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is one of three winners to share the $1 million 2011 Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine for their work on innate immunity. Using forensic genetics techniques, the University of Arizona's Conservation Genetics Lab is working to protect wild animals and catch the criminals in cases of wildlife crime.
Key Words: genetics

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