Logo

Consistency May Be a Hobgoblin, But We Appreciate It Anyway

Jul 22, 2008

Daniel MacArthur at Genetic Future blogs about an Australian company called Genetic Technologies that appears to be reneging on a promise to allow other screening labs to test for BRCA1 and BRCA2, for which it won exclusive testing rights in Australia and New Zealand five years ago. Earlier this month, MacArthur says, "familial cancer screening laboratories around Australia and New Zealand received letters from the company ordering that they cease offering the tests within seven days. ... The concern, of course, is that this move will grant a complete monopoly to Genetic Technologies as the sole testing facility in the region, driving prices up." MacArthur posits that the move may be an attempt to shore up the company's falling stock price.

Breaking News
The Scan

Wolf Howl Responses Offer Look at Vocal Behavior-Related Selection in Dogs

In dozens of domestic dogs listening to wolf vocalizations, researchers in Communication Biology see responses varying with age, sex, reproductive status, and a breed's evolutionary distance from wolves.

Facial Imaging-Based Genetic Diagnoses Appears to Get Boost With Three-Dimensional Approach

With data for more than 1,900 individuals affected by a range of genetic conditions, researchers compared facial phenotype-based diagnoses informed by 2D or 3D images in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Survey Suggests Multigene Cancer Panel VUS Reporting May Vary Across Genetic Counselors

Investigators surveyed dozens of genetic counselors working in clinical or laboratory settings, uncovering attitudes around VUS reporting after multigene cancer panel testing in the Journal of Genetic Counseling.

Study Points to Tuberculosis Protection by Gaucher Disease Mutation

A mutation linked to Gaucher disease in the Ashkenazi Jewish population appears to boost Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance in a zebrafish model of the lysosomal storage condition, a new PNAS study finds.