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.
Genetic Tests and FDA
FDA will convene a public meeting next week to hear from companies that make direct-to-consumer genetic tests, before it begins an overhaul of its regulations on genetic diagnostic testing, MIT's Technology Review says. FDA says doctors need help interpreting results from these tests, and that a third party should assess them before they are sold to the general public. "More than 2,000 genetic tests are now available through clinical laboratories," Technology Review's Emily Singer writes. FDA has made moves towards regulation of these tests in recent years, she adds, but the issue gained widespread notice in May when Pathway Genomics said it was going to sell its DTC genetic tests at Walgreens. (Walgreens called off the deal under FDA pressure, as our sister blog The Sample noted.) "The agency says it plans to take a risk-based approach, meaning that tests linked to major medical decisions will be more tightly regulated than those that might predict a minor increase in risk for disease," Singer says.