Welcome to the Genomics in Society Digest
Genomics and its related Ethical, Economic, Environmental, Legal and Social aspects
This news digest is published by Genomics in Society at Genome Alberta. Feel free to forward to your colleagues.
We are making some changes to the way deliver your Genome Alberta newsletter.
Please add news@GenomeAlberta.ca to your safe or whitelist settings in your email program. Thank you.
|
|
To get your latest full version of Genomics in Society news, visit genomealberta.ca/newsletters
You can subscribe to receive your bi-monthly edition direct to your email, cancel a subscription, and view our back issues.
|
|
 Annual report season
The Annual Reports from Canada’s Genome Centres are starting to arrive:
Gene therapy – Review
This review article from the New England Journal of Medicine describes the challenges, risks, and advances in gene-therapy clinical research. You will need access to read the full article but there is a 15-minute interview podcast with one of the article’s co-authors, Dr. Katherine A. High.
The dark secret at the heart of AI
Artificial Intelligence is at work making predictions ranging from your buying behaviour to your chances of contracting certain diseases. Sometimes it is an algorithm making key decisions, yet we don’t always know how these advanced algorithms make a decision. Do you simply trust the answer or are you entitled to an explanation?
Source: MIT Technology Review
Most UK farmers would adopt GM crop technology if UK regs changed
Over three-quarters of farmers in the United Kingdom are in favour of adopting genetically modified crops if the regulatory environment allowed it, according to a recent poll. They could get the chance if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands by his plan to break with EU rules against genetically modified organisms.
Source: Farmers Guardian and Farming Online
London is crawling with drug-resistant microbes
I’m sure London is not the only place rife with drug resistant staphylococci, but this study drew its samples from surface in public areas in the community and hospitals of East and West London. Nearly half of the bacteria found in these sample were resistant to two or more commonly used antibiotics
Source: Scientific American podcast and Nature
This land is the only land there is
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a special report on land use and it was the focus for numerous articles and op-ed discussions. Here are “seven ways of understanding the IPCC’s newest climate warning” to serve as your general guide to the report.
Source: The Atlantic
Has this scientist finally found the fountain of youth?
Probably not, but it makes for a good headline. The mice died shortly after receiving the “rejuvenating treatment” but editing the epigenome is still seen as a promising tool to hold back the aging process.
Source: MIT Technology Review
After you die, these genes come to life
Maybe there is no fountain of youth in our genes but there appears to be genes that are waiting to come alive after you are dead. There is repeatable evidence that dormant genes are activated with hours or even days after death. Why? That is the question still to be answered.
Source: Discover Magazine
Drinking bleach won’t cure cancer or anything else, F.D.A. says
No dear reader, we do not think you are about to go out and quaff a cup of bleach to cure what ails you. We have included this in our Digest because of what it means here in 2019. Too many people fall victim to the promise of quick fixes, simplistic solutions to complex problems, and the allure of internet marketing. If it was all about harmless but useless scams, maybe it would not be too concerning, but when the FDA needs to point out that bleach solutions are not medicine – we have a problem.
Source: New York Times or if you have used up your NYT free articles here is a similar story and video from Newsweek
'Geno-economics' is a thing, but maybe it shouldn't be
With the help of huge databases of genetic information and equally large databases related to economics and human behaviour, a few economists are using genetics to augment their understanding of economic outcomes. If biologists do not completely understand the links between genetics and behaviour, is it prudent for economist to try to find links?
Source: Bloomberg
High school students get chance to have research published in scientific journal
The STEM Fellowship is a Canadian not-for-profit run by young people, for young people. One of the organization’s programs is the STEM Fellowship Journal which offers students the chance to submit papers, have them peer-reviewed, and published in a national publication. The latest Scholarly Writing Challenge will be open for submissions September 3rd.
Source: Calgary Herald
Wind-down of stem-cell institute leaves a void
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is running out of money. In 2004, voters in California approved funding for regenerative medicine which made the state a leader in the research field. The hope is that renewed funding will be back on the ballot in 2020 but in the meantime the CIRJM is not accepting new grant applications.
Source: Nature
|
|
|
Feature: Gene Editing News
|
|
|
 WATCH: Siddhartha Mukherjee on the ethics of gene editing
Pulitzer prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee is also a physician, biologist, oncologist. He is working on using gene editing to help activate the body’s own immune system to kill the cancer. In this 18-minute segment from Amanpour & Co he discusses the new treatment research and the ethical implications of gene editing.
Source: PBS
The banana is dying. The race is on to reinvent it before it's too late
Monoculture practices has put the world’s supply of bananas on the endangered list. Most of the bananas we pick from the produce shelves are Cavendish bananas and new strain of Fusarium fungus is decimating crops everywhere. The problem is being magnified by a changing climate and a new fungal leaf disease that has appeared on plantations. Researchers are using gene-editing technology to develop a better banana resistant to the Fusarium TR4 fungus. Will consumer resistance and the regulatory get in the way?
Source: BBC and Wired
Don’t change your DNA at home, says America’s first CRISPR law
We might want to put this story with the ‘do not drunk bleach’ story also in this edition of our Genomics in Society Digest. There are no do-it-yourself “gene-therapy kits” on the market (yet) but in an society where people will market any number of untried or dangerous home remedies, maybe it really is prudent to be proactive on this one. Only in California.
Source: MIT Technology Review
|
|
DNA sequencing accuracy comes a long way
Wenger, AM., et al. Nature Biotechnology 2019 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0217-9
The holy grail of sequencing for long and accurate reads maybe a step closer. It is a tweak to PacBio’s current technology, but it seems to be a promising tweak.
Source: Nature (full text) and Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Gene editing: Legal and regulatory implications
The problem of regulations lagging behind the pace of technology is not new, but when it comes to applying gene-editing tools the gap could get much wider, much faster. A Royal Society Te Apārangi panel in New Zealand says that country’s regulations need to be updated.
Source: Royal Society Te Apārangi (page contains links to the supporting documents and the full report)
 Powerful pollen
Bailey, CS. et al. Chemical Science 2019 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC01375J
“Queen’s University researcher P. Andrew Evans has uncovered a new process to deliver antibiotics using pollen to shield them”.
Source: Chemical Science and Queen’s Gazette
|
|
|
Genome Alberta has an extensive Events Calendar on our website. Visit GenomeAlberta.ca to see all the events, and sign up for our newsletters while you're there!
|
|
Let Them Eat Dirt: The Hunt for Missing Microbes
Allergies, obesity, asthma, intestinal disorders, auto-immune diseases, and diabetes are all on the rise, with some even doubling every ten years. New research points to changes in the complex ecosystem of microbes that live on and inside every one of us – our microbiota – as a major cause. But how could microorganisms that live in your gut affect the odds you’ll develop asthma, a disease of the lungs – or diabetes, a metabolic disorder?
LET THEM EAT DIRT: The Hunt For Our Kid’s Missing Microbes connects with young families, researchers, and doctors to sleuth out what’s harming our microbiota and learn what we can do to reverse this dangerous trend.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A, moderated by journalist Kathryn Gretsinger, with Dr. Brett Finlay and Emmy Award-Winning producer Rivkah Beth Medow.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Doors 6:00 pm
Film 7:00 pm
Q&A 8:00 – 8:45 pm
WHERE: Rio Theatre, 1660 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC
Tickets are free. Get tickets at the Rio Theatre Box Office or online
*Must be 19+ w/ID for entry and bar service.
World Congress on Genetic Counselling
Advances in genomic sequencing technology are promising a revolution in how diseases are diagnosed and treated. Understanding how these advances are managed and communicated to patients, families and wider society will benefit from empirical genetic counselling research.
The second world congress on genetic counselling will provide a forum that facilitates active engagement between international researchers and practitioners to explore the evidence that guides genetic counselling and the communication of genetics in mainstream medicine, thereby enhancing clinical practice. The programme will explore what is at the heart of genetic counselling, and will also question whether genetic counselling can ever be substituted with ChatBots.
The conference is delivered in partnership with the Society and Ethics Research Group at Wellcome Genome Campus and the Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors (UK and Republic of Ireland).
WHEN: October 2 - 4, 2019
WHERE: Wellcome Genome Campus, UK
Information and registration available at the congress website.
Banff Venture Forum
The Banff Venture Forum is designed to showcase high-tech companies from across North America, offer insight into key issues within the industry, provide networking opportunities and give companies a chance to learn from world-class professionals in the investment community. Featuring technology companies across the Information Technology and Sustainable Technology sectors, the Banff Venture Forum provides emerging technology companies with visibility and an opportunity to present to private equity and venture capital investors from across North America.
WHEN: October 3 - 4, 2019
WHERE: Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, AB
Registration and event information available at the forum website.
Till & McCulloch Meetings
The Till & McCulloch Meetings are Canada's stem cell research conference. As the only conference of its kind in Canada, the Till & McCulloch Meetings provide an unparalleled opportunity to meet and network with Canada's leading stem cell scientists, clinicians, bioengineers and ethicists, as well as representatives from industry, government, health and NGO sectors from around the world.
The 2019 Till & McCulloch Meetings are hosted by the Stem Cell Network and CCRM.
WHEN: November 4 - 6, 2019
WHERE: Hotel Bonaventure, Montréal
Online Registration closes on October 9, 2019
Visit the conference website for details.
|
|
|
|
