The age of forensic genomics
An age of forensic genomicsJoseph James DeAngeloThe Golden State Killer, a sinister figure who terrorized Californians between 1974 and 1986, was apprehended on April 24, 2018. This elusive predator, known by various monikers such as the East Area Rapi…
70 years since Watson and Crick publish the structure of DNA
On April 25th, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. This paper helped Watson, Crick and Maurice Wilkins win the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 (Rosalind Franklin…
The Insight Show Notes — Season 2, Episode 12: The New York Times takes on Ancient DNA
The Insight Show Notes — Season 2, Episode 12: The New York Times takes on Ancient DNAThis week on The Insight (Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Podcasts)we discussed the controversy that has erupted over a 12,000-word piece in The New York Times Ma…
Have your exome sequenced for $29.99
Just a reminder that for the rest June Helix DNA kits with the cost of an Insitome app. Buy Regional Ancestry, Metabolism, or Neanderthal, and start your lifelong DNA journey with Helix for just $29.99! A great gift idea.That means for the cost of an a…
DNA, from genetics to genomics
In the early 1950s scientists established that the molecular structure of DNA was a double helix. The had discovered the physical substrate of heredity. With this discovery the field of molecular genetics was born (and eventually a Nobel Prize given!)….
DNA Replication
Most of you have probably seen this stylized graphic somewhere along the away (I think it was on PBS at some point). But it’s still cool….
Osama bin Laden and the DNA match
How they determine Osama bin Laden really is Osama bin Laden:
Once samples from all sources are in hand, analysts isolate a bit of DNA from each sample, make lots of copies of it, and then process the copies through a machine that analyzes genetic mark…
To catch a predator: familial DNA
I already blogged this general issue, but the ‘grim sleeper’ murderer was caught because of a match of old samples with those of us his son. If I had to bet money I think this sort of result (California and Colorado are the two American states which have a system in place to allow for […]
“Old Europe”
A Lost European Culture, Pulled From Obscurity:The little-known culture is being rescued from obscurity in an exhibition, “The Lost World of Old Europe: the Danube Valley, 5000-3500 B.C.,” which opened last month at the Institute for the Study of the A…