Category Archives: medicine

The importance of culturing the uncultured, delving into the microbial consortia in the human gut

Posted on 15 Nov, 2016 by Kelle Freel

The molecular side of ecology has grown by leaps and bounds in recent decades. The review we covered not too long ago, did a nice job of summarizing many key aspects highlighting the importance of this relatively new molecular view … Continue reading →

Posted in community ecology, genomics, medicine, metagenomics, microbiology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Analysis of the human microbiome reveals you are (at least related to) what you eat, in a manner of speaking

Posted on 29 Apr, 2016 by Kelle Freel

Understanding microbial symbioses, and more specifically how the human microbiome affects our health, is currently a hot topic in the land of microbiology and metagenomics. The most recent special edition of Science focuses on reviews and articles centered on understanding … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, medicine, microbiology, next generation sequencing, population genetics | Leave a comment

Island-Hopping with an E.I.D.

Posted on 18 Apr, 2016 by Bryan McLean

If you live in the U.S. and feel like Zika virus is getting closer to home, that’s because it is. Although there are no known cases of Zika transmission by natural vectors in the lower 48, experts have stressed that … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, genomics, medicine, phylogenetics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Veritas Genetics offers $999 (human) genome sequences

Posted on 3 Mar, 2016 by Jeremy Yoder

Veritas Genetics, a company co-founded by Harvard University geneticist George Church* announced today that it will sequence your genome for less than $1,000. One dollar less, specifically. Up to now, “personal genome” services like 23andMe have used methods that don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in association genetics, bioinformatics, genomics, medicine, next generation sequencing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Just in time for spring break- the phylogenetic and medicinal history of Aloe vera

Posted on 16 Mar, 2015 by Melissa DeBiasse

It’s spring break season across the United States, which means many undergraduates are shedding their winter layers and flocking to warm, tropical destinations. After a week of fun in the sun, I’m sure many of them will rely on  Aloe vera to soothe their sunburns. … Continue reading →

Posted in medicine, phylogenetics, plants, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Consuming raw or undercooked frogs may increase your risk of getting a rare tapeworm in your brain

Posted on 25 Nov, 2014 by Noah Snyder-Mackler

A 50-year-old UK resident had been living with an unwelcome visitor for the past 4 years and it was such a headache. Surgeons from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge removed the tapeworm during a biopsy after noticing a small circular lesion … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, medicine, phylogenetics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

WTF (What's The Function?)

Posted on 4 Nov, 2014 by Noah Snyder-Mackler

Jay Shendure’s editorial, “Life after genetics”, points out that we, as geneticists, should shift our focus from variant-finding (e.g., GWAS) to understanding the functional implications of disease-associated variants: “We are in a period of rich discovery in human genetics and genomics. The … Continue reading →

Posted in genomics, medicine, mutation, next generation sequencing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Caught in the act: how drug-resistance mutations sweep through populations of HIV

Posted on 28 Jan, 2014 by Jeremy Yoder

The following guest post by Meredith L. Carpenter is cross-posted from the CEHG blog at Stanford, and it describes recent work by Pleuni Pennings, who was featured in last week’s interview. Enjoy! It has been over 30 years since the … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, medicine, population genetics | 3 Comments

Why genetic tests are different

Posted on 31 Dec, 2013 by Jeremy Yoder

In yesterday’s New York Times, Kira Peikoff reported what happened when she took genetic tests for disease risks from three different providers—she got three very different results. 23andMe said my most elevated risks — about double the average — were … Continue reading →

Posted in association genetics, medicine, methods | 5 Comments