Blogenomic

Originally Published May 22, 2010; Last Updated July 24, 2010; Last Republished July 24, 2010:

Congress focuses on the new frontier of genetic testing as commercialization of "home" genetic test kits¹ proliferate.

Kudos to Congress for focusing on understanding the issues and question related to the fast growing commercialization of genetic testing—the issues and questions are many; the answers, guidance, and protections few.

Web:

• UPDATED 07/24/2010 Reuters, Consumer gene test results misleading or more likely just unreliable and invalid.

  Turning an infant and nascent science in to little more than entertaining séance or tarot card readings.

• Reuters, House panel probes personal genetic tests

-----notes-----

1. Typically a simple swab kit is sold at a commercial chain outlet that enables the consumer to mail-in their saliva DNA for testing.

In some cases these kits come with a lot of legal fine print that, among other things, requires the consumer to surrender their rights to and control of their genetic material and profiles—typically not necessary or in the consumer's interest.

Originally Published July 04, 2010; Last Updated July 07, 2010; Last Republished July 04, 2010:

Today America celebrated its officially recognized day of independence, July 04, 2010.

Web: UPDATED 07/07/2010 UPI Photos, Fourth of July celebration

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Let us remember too that our young guardians are currently dying in two discretionary conflicts—let our policymakers immediately cease these discretionary conflicts and stop bring our guardians home in coffins.

YouTube:

• History of Memorial Day

Web: UPI Pictures, Memorial Day 2010 Highlights

Skloot, a first time non-fiction writer¹, begins The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by quoting Wiesel,

“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and worth some measure of triumph.”--Elie Wiesel—

She then does just that, transforming an interesting cell biology story in to a simultaneously fascinating, sad, and splendid human-interest story.

To researchers and scientists using Henrietta Lacks’s cancer cells (HeLa; hee-la) she was an abstraction; to the Lacks Family a secret source of treasure containing both anguish and triumph; all delightfully captured by Skloot.

Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks implicitly captures the shocking disparity between our nation’s impressive scientific advances and its modest (to state it kindly) social progress, particularly for our minority and poor populations.

Web: NYT, Book Review, Eternal Life

-----notes-----

1. Except for the back cover's short bio and long acknowledgment you'd never know it...Skloot must be standing proudly akimbo (with her hands on her hips).

Skloot has also set up a scholarship foundation for the purpose of educating the descendants of Henrietta Lacks.

Hopefully, the foundation will be well endowed in no small part by the beneficiaries of the HeLa cell line and related research.

Those interested in pursuing bioethics issues further might find National Bioethics Advisory Commission's (NBAC), National Institutes of Health, Bioethics Resources on the Web, and Georgetown University, Bioethics Research Library good starting points.

RAND has published a "backgrounder" monograph on the NBAC's efforts, which includes a useful bibliography.

Here are the top ten Lunog¹ posts created in 2009, in descending order (most views too least):

1. Submarine USS Hartford SSN 768 Collides
2. Iran 2009 Election Post Khamenei Speech
3. Still Managing The Tiananmen Student Massacre Fallout
4. Virginia Class Submarine - Defense Authorization FY10
5. Memorial Day 2009
6. Kangaroo Kommission Kickoff Update-32
7. Fathers' Day 2009 - In Support of Iranians
8. China Provokes US Hosing And Formal Protest
9. Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan - Ninth Circuit
10. United States Navy Joins Air France Flight 447 Search
11. The border case²

Happy New Years!

-----notes-----

1. Lunog holds individual blogs GNU/Linux, First, Halibut, Misblog, LCB, Blogenomic, Toowiki.

2. Australian SEA 1000 Submarine Program Manager Named

Fathers' Day 2009 in support of Iranians struggling for change—especially for the father whose daughter¹ was so brutally and senselessly murdered as she stood at his side.

-----notes-----

1. Internet and media outlets are referring to the young Iranian girl as 16 year-old Neda.

Updated reports indicate Neda is in her late 20s and was with her music instructor not her father. Facts, which make her murder no less traumatic, brutal, or senseless.

Let us remember too that our young guardians are currently dying¹ in two discretionary conflicts³—let our policymakers immediately cease these discretionary conflicts² and bring our guardians home.

YouTube:

• History of Memorial Day

-----notes-----

1. First Lieutenant Roslyn Schulte, 25, died Wednesday (May 20, 2009) near Kabul, Afghanistan—she graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2006 (UPI, Female Air Force Academy graduate killed).

2. In a speech to our Midshipmen, Class of 2009 our current commander in chief has promised:

"I will only send you into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary, and with the strategy, the well-defined goals, the equipment and the support you need to get the job done,"--President Barack Obama--

Only one problem—point me to those who have started a conflict and did not assert it was absolutely necessary?

Instead of hollow and meaningless rhetoric let us commit the same amount of resources to studying and learning how to avoid conflict as we do to studying and learning how to fight and win them.

3. ...and some are working very hard to start a third disastrous discretionary conflict with Iran—you can bet this conflict, if begun, will be "absolutely necessary" too!

• UPI, Mullen: Iran close to having a nuke

  "The unintended consequences of a strike against Iran right now would be incredibly serious,"--UPI, quoting Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mullen--

It cannot be over emphasized that America has no, zip, nada, zero interest in attacking Iran, not even to prevent a nuclear Iran—if Israel believes their interests are best served by attacking Iran then let Israel attack Iran, without direct or indirect economic support, military aid, or intervention from us (America), except to provide humanitarian and diplomatic assistance.