Curious
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Can anti-aging be programmed?
11/04/2019Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
The maximum lifespan of a given species, along with its particular aging process, is believed to be rooted in genetics. With the introduction of technologies that allow for the decoding of entire human genomes, it is no surprise that anti-aging research is currently exploding. If aging is built-in into our DNA program, then without a doubt the most controversial approach to anti-aging would be to remove the program from our DNA. Is that even feasible?
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Pregnancy screening options and the role of NIPT
31/03/2019Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
The primary concern and screening available for women is that for chromosomal abnormalities. Until the recent introduction of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), the screening program consisted of testing for specific blood markers (whether protein molecules or smaller chemicals) and an ultrasound, in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. According to obstetrics guidelines, pregnant woman is supposed to be clearly told about her screening and testing options, and that includes traditional approaches, NIPT and even diagnostic invasive testing. Diagnostic invasive testing carry small but real risk of pregnancy loss. This is the primary reason why NIPT has gained so much in popularity because women don’t want to undergo diagnostic testing if they don’t have to, and place their pregnancy at risk. But because traditional screening is nowhere near as accurate as NIPT, with traditional screening, lots more women end up undergoing confirmatory diagnostic testing that they would not have to if they took the NIPT test in the first place.
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Caregivers of patients with rare diseases
28/02/2019Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
Being a rare disease caregiver is an intimate story of compassion, as almost all caregivers live in the same household as their care recipient, and this usually involves caring for an immediate relative. For most, it is a tale of familial love and enormous dedication, which is staggering in proportion to what a daily routine of a typical adult might be. Only 1% is dedicated to the care of non-family members. Caregivers are modern-day heroes, quietly going about their demanding lives, without fanfare, and unfortunately too often, without much support to ease their difficult duties. On this international Rare Disease Day we dedicate this post to the topic of those who take care of the people afflicted with such conditions.
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Genetics of sexuality
09/02/2019Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
Valentine’s Day is coming and that day has become synonymous with the celebration of romance, partnership, love… and potentially sex at the end of the romantic, seductive day. Of course, the reality often strikes far from the fantasy, but fulfilled sexuality is a normal expectation of a healthy lifestyle, and perhaps there is no other day throughout the year that we go to such lengths to please and seduce each other. So to celebrate this unique day, we want to delve into the genetics of sexuality!
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Most gossiped about genetic news of 2018
11/01/2019Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
For a third year in a row, we are recounting the most shared genetic stories on social media so this has become our tradition to start the year. It is a collection of stories where the only metric we look at is the number of shares on stories about anything related to DNA. These can range from totally absurd, to very fascinating pieces of content that we would otherwise never come across if it wasn’t for this yearly review. Here are the most shared DNA-related stories on social media in 2018!
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DNA quality consequence on your DNA test results
05/12/2018Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
So you want to sequence your genome, all of your DNA, and look deep into the hidden secrets of your biological code? Then you sure will want to get quality information! It is easy to get excited about the results, but the majority of people who purchase any type of commercial DNA sequencing test, and even many of those selling it, actually have a poor understanding of the complexity of the process and the meaning of the results. With the speed of new DNA sequencing tests coming onto the market (at least 10 medical DNA tests are released per day, and who knows how many non-medical tests), many of them, if not the majority of the available tests on the market, will be providing DNA results that do not have any scientific validation, and hence no actual utility apart from having a bit of fun. However, while you are having some fun, you have to remember that you are disclosing access to your most private and precious biological information, your DNA. Instead, DNA information should be closely guarded by families, and retained for serious medical needs.
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Human versus gorilla DNA – size does matter!
29/09/2018Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
There are two types of technologies used to sequence genomes, any genomes. The most common one takes the genome that is cut up into millions of short fragments, and it is these short bits of your genome that are all being decoded by the instrument all at the same time. Computers then put all of these fragments back together to assemble your genome by comparing with an existing reference of what a human genome looks like. Basically imagine if you shredded a book in one of those office shredding machines, and afterwards you had to put it back together. Except that for a human genome, you wouldn’t be shredding one book, you would be shredding a whole bunch of bookshelves worth of books, and then putting it back together. On the other side of the spectrum is a long read DNA sequencing technology. As its name implies, it is a technology that can decode long stretches of DNA at a time. In this case the equivalent would be to try to put the book together with entire pages intact, as opposed to everything being shredded.
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Genome DNA testing in healthy people – what can you find?
31/08/2018Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
Very little scientific data has come out to assess the utility of genome sequencing in healthy people. While thousands upon thousands of papers have been published on the use of DNA tests in helping to diagnose conditions in order to help manage existing health problems in the population, very little attention has been paid to healthy people sequencing their genomes, despite the fact that thousands of people have already done so.
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Most gossiped about genetic news of 2017
11/01/2018Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
A new year is starting, and what better way to commence this year’s blog entry than with the recounting of the most shared genetic stories on social media in 2017. This can range in a whole gamut of directions, from the absurd to serious drama to political statements to scientific information, and is an interesting reflection of how genetic topics fascinate the public.
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Cow research benefiting human health? Yes!
23/10/2017Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
Everyone agrees on the importance of research to make medical progress. How this actually occurs is poorly understood in the general public, but it is assumed that once a treatment enters a clinical practice, it has been well researched. One of the areas of mystery is the role that research on animals plays in the progress of both human and animal medicine. But rather than getting into a debate on the ethics of animal research for human welfare, I wanted to point out a curious example in how agricultural research can also benefit human health.
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Synthesising humans, a modern topic of debate?
27/07/2017Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
One genome-related newstory that has stirred the public lately was last year’s announcement of a project to synthetically build a human genome. What do I mean by that? To build an entire human genome, the DNA code that makes each individual unique, with a machine base by base, chromosome by chromosome. You can imagine such information elicited quite a few gasps among the bewildered public.
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How valuable is your personal genome sequence? The public decides!
25/05/2017Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
The word value is tricky as it can have very different meanings to different people. It can be monetary, but it can also have a deeply personal value. In this post, we will look at value from multiple angles. How does the public see the medical utility value of genome sequencing? How does the public see the personal utility value of genome sequencing? How does the public see the cost value of genome sequencing?
Which one of these values would be most important to you: medical, personal utility, or cost? It is not a trivial question to answer!
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Most gossiped about genetic news of 2016
06/04/2017Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
The new year is in full swing, resolutions have been almost all forgotten, and perhaps it is time to unwind to a social media biggest buzz of 2016 on topics of genome and DNA sequencing. And there is a lot to choose from, ranging from strange to curious to fascinating and always to the latest science.
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One meeting to shape the world, one concept to bind us all - human genomics
22/02/2017Posted by:Dr.M.Raszek
Do you ever wonder what paramount events might be taking place behind the scenes that will shape your life and yet you never even know about it? One such event took place in Vancouver city not that long ago.