In this post, we talk about the mystery behind why the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines had to be chemically manipulated to achieve their success and what this chemical alteration consisted of, and then we ask questions about what it means for any further potential biological impacts because so many gaps in the knowledge of this new technology need to be filled.

Mitochondrial donation is an emerging reproductive technology applicable to women who suffer from mitochondrial disease. In this blog, we firstly summarize what mitochondrial donation is and how it is being regulated. Secondly, we explore ethical issues that arise beyond the scope of traditional artificial reproductive technologies as a result of the unique features of mitochondrial donation.

The field of medicine is working hard to keep up with advances in genome sequencing technologies but remains far behind due to difficulty in implementing some of the new, unfamiliar, and expensive protocols. Here we have focused on recent research and developments in clinical genomics, intending to highlight some of the progress being made towards optimization and large-scale implementation of genome sequencing in clinical settings.

We struggled to find a good summary of the Omicron mutations especially as to why the authorities were so concerned about originally. So, we did bit of our own research. This post looks at different predictive models of what might be expected from the Omicron, and the possibility that Omicron could be an early example of immune escape from vaccines.

In this post we summarize what Merogenomics perceived as the biggest themes in current medical genomics from the the latest conference put on by the American Society of Human Genetics. We also mention what themes are emerging, what is the usual information and what did not get as much attention as we might have expected.

This list of genes is extremely valuable for any doctor dealing with medical genomics as it consists of genes not only vetted for their association to a condition, but these are also genes where a medical actionability is available to the doctors. In this context, actionability refers to available medical intervention as defined by current standards of care.

Technology is not waiting for clinical practice to adjust itself to what is already available to doctors - the research is always continuously evolving to deliver ever increasing benefits.

Future of Next Generation Sequencing 2021 virtual summit review.

Wait! What? The human genome was not fully decoded already? That’s right, even though the Human Genome Project exhibited the first maps of the human genome in 2000, and announced it as complete in 2003 – a small fraction of the human genome was never resolved due to technological limitations. But the day has finally arrived!

This article does not have an agenda to support vaccination program or vilify it. Meaning Merogenomics is not married to a camp of anti-vaxxers, or those who think everyone should be vaccinated (because not everyone is actually eligible to be vaccinated), and the purpose is to produce an article that looks at data to see how many questions of interest can be answered. Look at the image above to see what we attempted to answer. Benefits and limitations of these novel mRNA vaccines.

There were many great themes emerging from the 2020 American Society of Human Genetics conference. The biggest take home message is that medical genetics continues to grow at an enormously rapid pace, with consistently more patients all over the world having their DNA sequence decoded to help with their medical management and to help discover novel causes of the conditions affecting them - from rare diseases to more common health issues such as breast cancer or hyperlipidemia. Even really complex traits like infertility are being probed for influencing genetic factors. No condition escapes the microscope and some completely new diseases are described as well. It is becoming clear that medicine will be dramatically reshaped. Read on to find out why.

Last month we published a post on DNA testing for cancer predisposition and had an accompanying video on the types of DNA tests that are available for those people either afflicted with cancer or that have a family history of cancer. This month we wanted to focus on those tests available to cancer patients, as mentioned in our video. We’ll start by explaining how cancer patients can benefit from DNA testing.

There are many reasons why medical clinics should considering adopting DNA testing to benefit their patients. The vast majority of doctors are already aware that DNA testing has had a huge impact in helping patients. But the problem is that many doctors are not familiar enough with this technology and how to best implement it in their practice. Here are the top benefits to consider in overcoming these barriers.

Since its discovery, a massive amount of research (and money) has gone into CRISPR/Cas9 technology to modify it for the needs of research and clinical use. In the latest and most advanced rendition of CRISPR technology, the molecular machinery can now find a desired target and deliver any type of DNA change desired without the need of introducing double-stranded DNA breaks (breaking the DNA apart essentially) or without using a DNA template to produce the change. The leap forward is simply mind boggling.

When it comes to assessing personal DNA (whether for medical or entertainment purposes), the most common worry people appear to have is the lack of privacy protection around such personal information. DNA data can provide a wealth of information about an individual including the ability to discover the identity of an individual thanks to the public’s massive, indiscriminate, voluntary sharing of their DNA data. The ultimate goal is to control access to an individual’s genetic information and prevent unauthorized access in any way, by anyone! Read on to find out how DNA data might be abused and how it should be protected.

The world of genome editing is heating up. Since its invention in 2012 of the targeted Cas9 gene editing system, the procedure has garnered massive funding and attention, and it is no wonder, as the potential medical implications are obvious. Quietly in the background, human embryo experiments are already occurring, setting the stage for what might be expected in the near future.

Tazemetostat is a drug for patients with specific genetically-defined tumors. This is how the future of both clinical trials and personalized targeted therapy is going to be defined. Well, perhaps more accurately, that future had arrived a long time ago, it is just that unfortunately not many oncologists are yet aware of or know how to apply such medications. But everything requires its time to mature, and eventually all of our oncologists will be sequencing patient cancer DNA without a second thought.

There are massive studies underway in the US right now that are checking into the idea of what societal health benefits can be derived by screening babies upon birth with the sequencing of their genomes. This is a very laborious undertaking, combining the research efforts of many clinical institutions, as well as many scientists and physicians, and is scrutinized throughout the process from every angle possible. It is desirable to find out how good such sequencing would be for babies to be healthier, how accurate the process could be, how dangerous, how costly, and what impact can be expected. It will require many years of examination to bring all of the necessary data required to guide future health policies and standards.

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.

"Actionable" genes are the genes that if mutated can lead to serious health complications, but where something can actually be done about it for a patient if discovered. So being able to determine what constitutes a gene with beneficial treatment or intervention to take place is definitely important! This is particularly timely work in light of emerging evidence of genetic testing leading to bad decisions with no benefit to patients.

What has changed, quite recently, is how pregnant women have started applying genomic technologies to assess the health risks of their babies, even prior to being born. Colloquially known as NIPT test, which stands for a non-invasive prenatal test, it is a term that is rapidly becoming familiar to pregnant women.