As a lot of you know, I was diagnosed over four years ago (on the day after I turned 50) with Chronic Leukocytic Leukemia ( CLL); you can live for decades with the stuff, but it’s bad news. I have had recurrent hospitalizations since then - horrible trouble with opportunistic infections (greatly reduced immune system) and it just drains me of energy ( Read more... )

I despair at the idea of people doing this sort of madness; sex-selective abortions and fetal selection  by immigrant families in America because - well, their culture prizes boys over girls.  Part of cultural selection norms many hundreds of years old that prize boys over girls as breadwinners in older age for you, and so on.

That’s where I ( Read more... )

Having a much less immediately lethal form of leukemia and being an adoptive dad of a Chinese girl, this story hits home: a kid in Ohio adopted from China has a nasty version of leukemia, and is in desperate need of a bone-marrow transplant.  There’s this little problem, however, about finding a genetic match from family members…

From USA Today - states aren’t hanging on to DNA evidence, due to cost issues.

For all of you guys out there who think that DNA analysis is a closed, perfected book, and the FBI are the whiz-bangs at it, I got news for you - wrong on both counts. 85% of all samples taken since 9/11 have yet to be processed. And it’s not likely to get better soon.

wapo:

Among the ethics questions raised by the prospect of people posting their genomes is whether they have an obligation to kin who may not want their familial patterns put on display.

Asked if he had consulted his living parent, his three siblings or his 30-year-old son before posting his genome, Venter said: “I’ve not asked any of their ( Read more... )