News & Publications
Posted: Friday, June 30, 2017
A Texas bill has been signed into law allowing "clinics and companies. . . to offer people unproven stem cell interventions without the testing and approval required under federal law," according to Science Magazine. The act grants legal status to practices that are already widespread; Leigh… Read more
Posted: Thursday, June 29, 2017
Jessica J. Hellmann, PhD, Director of Consortium member Institute on the Environment (IonE) took part in a Minnesota Public Radio roundtable discussion last Friday. Moderated by Kerri Miller and featuring Roopali Phadke of Macalester College and Michael Noble of … Read more
Posted: Monday, June 26, 2017
Adam Nash was conceived using in vitro fertilization so doctors could collect stem cells from his umbilical cord blood to save his sister Molly's life. Molly suffers from Fanconi anemia; according to her mother, Lisa Nash, who was quoted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Molly was dying.… Read more
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017
In a newly-released TEDMED talk, Sharon Terry of Genetic Alliance describes her journey to becoming a citizen scientist after her two children were diagnosed with the genetic condition pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), which causes the symptoms of premature aging. She quickly learned “… Read more
Posted: Wednesday, June 21, 2017
New observational technologies are greatly complicating oceanographic research, even as they present tantalizing opportunities. Because they are less expensive and more networked than ship-based measurements, remotely operated vehicles like undersea drones and satellites can provide an… Read more
Posted: Friday, June 9, 2017
Earlier this week, the 4th annual conference of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program was held in Farmington, CT. This year's focus was the many ways genomics is rapidly becoming a fixture in our lives, from prenatal… Read more
Posted: Tuesday, May 30, 2017
A new article in the American Journal of Law & Medicine by Consortium collaborator Barbara J. Evans, MS, JD, LLM, expands on ideas she shared at last December's forum, "How Patients Are Creating Medicine's Future." "Barbarians at the Gate: Consumer-Driven Health Data… Read more
Posted: Thursday, May 25, 2017
A report from the NBC affiliate in Boston sheds light on an aspect of mail-in DNA kits that may surprise some users: when you sign the paperwork to obtain the results, you're often granting a "perpetual, royalty-free, world-wide, transferable license" for the data. The company in this… Read more
Posted: Monday, May 22, 2017
The latest revision to the Common Rule released in January exempted studies using "benign behavioral interventions" – such as those typically used by social scientists – from the level of oversight required for medical research with human participants. This news was welcomed by… Read more
Posted: Thursday, May 18, 2017
More than 60 Minnesota children, mostly from the state's large Somali-American community, are infected with measles. The outbreak is a direct result of efforts by anti-vaccine activists such as Andrew Wakefield, the discredited researcher behind the film Vaxxed, who has visited Minneapolis and… Read more