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The Medical Futurist: Weekly Introduction
As a medical futurist, I work on bringing disruptive technologies to medicine & healthcare; assisting medical professionals and students in using these in an efficient and secure way; and educating e-patients about how to become equal partners with their caregivers. I publish a daily newsletter about the future of medicine, and share related news almost every hour on Twitter. Scienceroll.com is updated on a regular basis about the future of healthcare with an emphasis on social media. Here is my white paper, The Guide to the Future of Medicine. I’m the author of Social Media in Clinical Practice handbook;...
Source: ScienceRoll - July 6, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Bertalan Meskó (MD, PhD) Tags: Medicine Source Type: blogs

A Wearable Health Tracker That Shocks You!
Have you found it hard to change lifestyle? Do you struggle going to the gym or waking up early? This wearable health tracker wristband called Pavlok will literally electrocute you into action. Would you use it? The founder explained how it works: Sethi explains how Pavlok works with a simple example — the habit of waking earlier. “It sits on my wrist and at 6am it’ll vibrate. I can snooze it, but if I snooze it twice, it shocks me.” Well, I’m ready to take actions in my life without such hardcore motivation tools. But there are certainly people who need some push to make the next step. This...
Source: ScienceRoll - July 5, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Bertalan Meskó (MD, PhD) Tags: Health Technology Wearables Source Type: blogs

3D Printing Vascular Networks
The technique of 3D printing clearly went mainstream this year. 2014 was the turning point. After successfully printing out in 3D working liver tissues, heart valves, prostheses, medical equipment and many more, it is ready to revolutionize almost every aspect of medicine. As printing out biomaterials is possible and actually faster than growing cells in laboratories, we might not be far from printing out living organs eradicating organ donor waiting lists forever. In the latest developments, scientists from the Universities of Sydney, Harvard, Stanford and MIT made a groundbreaking announcement that they have worked out a...
Source: ScienceRoll - July 2, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Bertalan Meskó (MD, PhD) Tags: 3D Printing Biotechnology Future Medicine vascular network Source Type: blogs

Identifying Genetic Disorders From Family Photos
Although the area of genomics has not been developing at an exponential rate that experts expected when the Human Genome Project was announced to be completed, more and more ways of potential use of genomic data in medicine have showed how it might transform our lives. A few months ago, it was published that so-called “genetic mugshots” can  be recreated from DNA. By only using a person’s DNA, a face can be generated which sounds like pure science fiction. Now researchers at Oxford University have developed a computer program that can diagnose rare genetic disorders in children simply by analyzing famil...
Source: ScienceRoll - July 1, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Bertalan Meskó (MD, PhD) Tags: Computer genetics Innovation algorithm genetic disorder genomics Source Type: blogs

In-Vitro Fallout: Donor IVF Teen Says “I Wish I Had Never Been Born”
This story is so heartbreaking and so indicative of the complicated ethical web the fertility industry has spun. Gracie Crane is a UK teenage girl full of angst, but not the kind that troubles most teenagers. She was adopted as a "leftover" IVF embryo. Gracie keenly feels the loss of her genetic roots, but the law in the UK prevents her from ever knowing who her biological parents are. The pain is so acute, some days she says she wishes she were never born.Continue reading at LifeNews>> (Source: Mary Meets Dolly)
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - June 27, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: IVF Source Type: blogs

Yours Truly "Award-Winning Columnist"
In the blogosphere, there are times I think when it is acceptable to toot your own horn. This maybe one of those times, so I am going to toot away.At the Catholic Media Conference in Charlotte this past week, the National Catholic Register submitted my commentaries to the Catholic Press Awards. They won first place in the “Best Regular Column – Culture, the Arts and Leisure" category. The judges said my commentary was "Informed, interesting approach to this very complicated topic. Written in a way that most readers can digest and learn from." That is exactly my mission. I am not the M.D. Ph.D. Church schol...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - June 24, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Source Type: blogs

MSA 2014 wrapup
I wrote up a few thoughts on MSA 2014 on the lab website and also linked to a Storify to capture the tweets from the meeting. It was another good meeting filled with excellent talks, networking, and posters.   (Source: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics)
Source: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics - June 21, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Jason Stajich Tags: Mycological Society of America msa2014 Source Type: blogs

New Nike World Cup Ad Glimpse of What Enhancements Will Do to Sport
The World Cup is back. I was lucky enough to be standing near a TV (at a soccer center no less) when the U.S. scored its first goal against Ghana. I will never forget the first time I ever watched men's soccer live. It was a college game and I sat in awe of how exciting such a low scoring game could be. I wondered where soccer had been all my life.Nike has a clever ad for the World Cup. The best football players in the world are replaced by "clones" that never make mistakes. Once one guy is cloned, they all get cloned because, go figure, the natural athlete can no longer compete. Then the fans disappear because a...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - June 18, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Transhumanism Source Type: blogs

UK Embryo Authority: Wrong to Test Three-Parent Technique in Animals But OK in Humans
In today's modern society everything seems turned around. Black is white. White is black. You would think nothing would surprise me anymore, but it does, especially in the realm of reproductive medicine.The United Kingdom's authority on reproductive medicine, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), has called the creation of embryos with three genetic parents "not unsafe" in the attempt to move the procedure to the clinic. I have written extensively about the technique and its safety issues before.The HFEA recommends more testing be done, but they don't recommend that testing be done in primates....
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - June 10, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs

Can Cerebral Palsy be Prevented With Cord Blood Stem Cells?
In my life I have been blessed to know many people who have cerebral palsy. When I was a child, Michael, a friend of my parents, would come to visit. My brother and I looked forward to his time with us because of his infectious sense of humor.Later, when I married my husband, I got to meet his cousin Jay. Jay is confined to a wheel chair but that did not stop him from making me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants. And just around the corner from my house lives Sarah. She cannot speak, but her mother and sister, who was hands down my kids' favorite babysitter, look at her with such love and admiration that I know she commu...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - June 6, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Stem cells, Adult Source Type: blogs

Postdoc: Population Genomics of Cheese Fungi
Postdoc in Population Genomics of Cheese Fungi (Orsay, France)We are seeking a highly motivated postgraduate researcher to work on population genomics of cheese Fungi in laboratory ESE located in Orsay near Paris (http://www.ese.u-psud.fr/index.php). The project focuses on studying the population genomics of *Penicillium roqueforti*, a fungus used for the maturation of blue cheese. Using whole-genome sequences of wild and domesticated populations, the successful applicant will particularly work on describing the recombination landscape within the genome of Penicillium roqueforti, the dynamics of transposable element...
Source: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics - May 29, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Jason Stajich Tags: postdoc cheese france penicillium Source Type: blogs

Entering the Bionic Age: Why Be You, When You Can Be New?
A whimsical animated children’s movie that came out in 2005 may be one of the most prophetic films of our time.Robots, featuring the voice talents of Robin Williams and Ewan McGregor, is the story of Rodney Copperbottom, a young robot adept at building and fixing things. He goes to the big city to meet his idol, the head of Bigweld Industries, Mr. Bigweld.What Rodney finds at Bigweld Industries is a change of management and a change of direction. The company will no longer be making replacement parts for robots. Instead, they will only be making new shiny “upgrades” for those robots that can afford them. The new motto f...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - May 29, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Transhumanism Source Type: blogs

Musings of a Former Zygote
I am a former zygote. If you are not familiar with biology terminology, a zygote is the first cell that results when gametes (sperm and egg) fuse in sexual reproduction. I teach biology to homeschool students and we discover that many organisms begin as zygotes. Any organism that reproduces sexually starts as a zygote. Humans are just one of many.And while we are quite willing to acknowledge that a canine zygote is a brand new dog, or a bovine zygote is a brand new cow, or an equine zygote is a brand new horse, all genetically distinct from any that came before, somehow we humans are different. Many of us are perfectly hap...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - May 16, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Human embryo Source Type: blogs

Job: Univ of Wisconsin, Plant-Microbe Ecologist or Epidemiologist
University of Wisconsin, Madison is advertising a position for Plant-Microbe Ecologist or Epidemiologist. The text below is taken from U. Wisconsin Eco_Epi_Ad The Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is searching broadly at the assistant professor level for a researcher who studies the ecology or epidemiology of plant associated microbes through the use of emerging and novel quantitative methods. Areas of focus could include, but are not limited to: role of plant pathogens in the ecology of agricultural or natural systems; ecology of plant-associated microbes; population genetics of pla...
Source: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics - May 14, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Jason Stajich Tags: jobs assistant professor ecology epidemiology faculty job madison plant microbe plant pathology plant-microbe ecology wisconsin Source Type: blogs

Postdoc: Populus microbiome/mycobiome at ORNL
New postdoc position in Chris Schadt’s lab at Oak Ridge National Lab Purpose The Biosciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (http://www.ornl.gov) is seeking a postdoctoral researcher in the area of microbial ecology. The selected candidate will join an international team of investigators focused on understanding ecology of microbial communities as well as their responses to various anthropogenically induced changes (climate, contaminants, land use, etc.) in multiple systems. Major Duties/Responsibilities Design, conduct and interpret laboratory and field based research; lead and contribute to the development of ...
Source: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics - May 2, 2014 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Jason Stajich Tags: postdoc ecology fungi microbiome mycobiome ORNL plant plant-microbe interactions Source Type: blogs