Connection Between Epigenome, Selective Mutability, Evolution, and Human Disease
Li, Harris et al., PLoS Genetics
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine and elsewhere propose a "connection between the epigenome, selective mutability, evolution, and human disease" based on the findings of their study on associations of structural mutability with germline DNA methylation and with non-allelic homologous recombination mediated by low-copy repeats. "Combined evidence from four human sperm methylome maps, human genome evolution, structural polymorphisms in the human population, and previous genomic and disease studies consistently points to a strong association of germline hypomethylation and genomic instability," the Baylor-led team writes.
Berkeley Will Use Its Own Genetics Lab for Student-Testing Program
After spending two months searching for a DTC genomic-testing vendor to perform a trio of genetic tests on its incoming freshmen, UC Berkeley has decided to use its own genetics lab.
"We went for our in-house lab after comparing its costs to those of outside labs," Bob Sanders, a Berkeley spokesperson, told me today.
He also he countered a claim by the Council for Responsible Genetics, which wrote June 8 that the choice was the result of "difficulty finding an affordable outside company."
Rather, using its own lab, which is located in Berkeley's School of Public Health, was "the cheapest route and the easiest from an administrative perspective, Sanders said.
Political Heat, Legal Cover, State Capital
But there may also be some political considerations behind Berkeley's saga. I counted three.
First, the school's choice may take some heat off it for originally announcing it would consider using DTC vendors, whom critics of the plan regard as controversial.
The second is legal cover. As Scientific American reported July 9, California legislators last month introduced a bill that seeks to kill Berkeley's plan. Among its parts, the bill wants to end the practice of requiring universities to report "the cost of genetic testing itself" and instead report "the cost of any legal judgments or settlements that arise as a consequence of genetic testing on students."
As a prominent attorney who specializes in genomics law told me today, California "appear[s] to be interested in protecting" itself against these judgments or settlements.
No. 3 is state capital. As it currently reads, the bill requires all California State University and University of California system schools — including Berkeley — to report the costs of any genetic-testing efforts so that an equivalent amount can be deducted from the school's funding. In other words, no matter who performs the testing, taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill.
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