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A Matter of Purpose

The controversy over the University of California, Berkeley's genetic testing project is due to the difference between science and science education, writes Marie-Claire Shanahan, a science education professor, in at guest post at Blog Around the Clock. "They have, in particular, different objectives and different artefacts, rules and actions that guide and shape them," she says. It is there, Shanahan adds, that the Berkeley project gets "fuzzy." How Berkeley describes the project makes it sound educational, yet the tools and some of the language are those of science. "The overall effect is one of a mixed metaphor," she says, and that matters "because the ethical considerations are different."

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.