Guest Author • Nov 30, 2018 •
Peter Mills, Assistant Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics I arrived in Hong Kong on Monday lunchtime for the second ‘international summit’ on genome editing amid stories circulating that gene-edited twin girls had been born to a Chinese couple. The editing, it was claimed, had targeted the CCR5 gene, with the aim of introducing a variant that confers immunity to HIV … Read More
Guest Author • Jul 27, 2016 •
Daphne Martschenko, University of Cambridge Researchers at King’s College London say they are able to predict educational achievement from DNA alone. Using a new type of analysis called a “genome-wide polygenic score”, or GPS, they analysed DNA samples from 3,497 people in the ongoing Twins Early Development Study. They found that people whose DNA had … Read More
Alison Campbell • Dec 28, 2015 •
In one of my classes we talk a bit about cloning, in the context of discussing various biotech techniques and their applications. Sometimes someone asks if I’d clone my dog (or my husband!) after they’d died, & my response is always to say ‘no’. Not because I don’t love them both (husband much more than dog, he’ll be glad to … Read More
Aimee Whitcroft • Jan 24, 2012 •
Hello and welcome, once again, to another episode of TOSP. This week was anniversary weekend in Wellington, so Elf and aimee recorded the ‘cast on Monday instead of Sunday. Because it was, well, a long weekend 🙂 And what an interesting ‘cast we think it is! This week, we feature viewing the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, … Read More