Genetic testing could help us build targeted and effective training routines for athletes, but the emerging science could also introduce opportunity for discrimination in the sporting world.
Richard Mattson, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Will your marriage be better if you and your partner are genetically compatible? Is there any evidence that certain genes make someone a better or worse partner? And if so, which genes should we test?
Are your new diet, exercise, meditation and self-care resolutions for 2020 really a personal choice? Or are you a model western “biocitizen,” living a life of unfreedom?
Cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy and fragile X syndrome are serious diseases, and most couples carrying the genetic mutations for these don’t know it. Should they all be tested?
When a family member dies from a disease caused by a genetic mutation, doctors have to decide whether to share the deceased person’s test results with the rest of the family.
The details of a surrogacy case involving an Australian couple commissioning a pregnancy in Thailand have created outrage in all sorts of quarters. But the father’s admission that he would have asked the…
Most cancers happen by chance and there is no obvious inherited reason for them. However a small proportion of cancers occur as a result of a genetic predisposition because a gene passed down through generation…
There could be a way of predicting – and preventing – which children will go on to have low intelligence, according to the findings of a study researchers at Cardiff University presented on Monday. They…
Clara Gaff, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Paul Waring, The University of Melbourne
Sydney’s Garvan Institute is this week promoting its acquisition of an Illumina machine which it says can sequence the whole human genome for $1,000. The institute hopes genomic sequencing will become…
Having a baby with a first cousin more than doubles the risk of congenital problems such as heart and lung defects, cleft palettes and extra fingers, according to the largest study of its kind in the UK…
The price of gene sequencing has plummeted in the last few decades. Now we can know what our DNA looks like, and discover what our bodies may have in store for us in the future. We can know medical information…
Millions of women in the US will have access to affordable genetic screening for cancer after the US Supreme Court ruled that a commercial company cannot patent human genes. The screening tests for mutations…
Researchers have taken the first step towards designing a rapid way of identifying harmful bacteria in infections, demonstrating the potential for faster patient treatment and decreased reliance on antibiotics…
Marriages between people who are related is more common than you might think. Unlike what many people think, their offspring are not doomed to birth defects or medical problems. In fact, unless they both…
OVER-DIAGNOSIS EPIDEMIC – Today Jacqueline Savard talks about the growing prevalence of genetic testing and what impact they have on over-diagnosis. Genetic testing and screening is increasingly becoming…
Yesterday on The Conversation, Timothy Smith from the Florey Neurosciences Institute argued that in order to improve genetics research, we need free and open access to genetic information. But while the…
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford