Tag: Antonio Regalado

Apple iPhone could become a new tool in genetic studies

Does Apple pursue DNA data?

apple-iphone image
Apple Has Plans for Your DNA: The iPhone could become a new tool in genetic studies. Illustration by Sarah Mazzetti

“Apple launched ResearchKit and got a fantastic response. The obvious next thing is to collect DNA,” says Gholson Lyon, a geneticist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, who isn’t involved with the studies.

One issue facing Apple is whether consumers are even interested in their DNA. So far, most people still have no real use for genetic data, and common systems for interpreting it are lacking as well. “In 10 years it could be incredibly significant,” says Lyon. “But the question is, do they have a killer app to interact with their [DNA] quickly and easily.”

Read Apple Has Plans for Your DNA,
by Antonio Regalado on MIT Technology Review, May 5, 2015.

Germ Line Engineering the Perfect Baby

Scientists are developing ways to edit the DNA of tomorrow’s children

Germ-Line-Engineering artist image
Scientists are developing ways to edit the DNA of tomorrow’s children. Germ Line Engineering: should we stop it before it’s too late asks Antonio Regalado? Illustration by Javier Jaén
  • ” The fear is that germ-line engineering is a path toward a dystopia of superpeople and designer babies for those who can afford it. “
  • ” You can do it. But there really isn’t a medical reason. People say, well, we don’t want children born with this, or born with that—but it’s a completely false argument and a slippery slope toward much more unacceptable uses. ”
  • ” To some scientists, the explosive advance of genetics and biotech means germ-line engineering is inevitable. Ultimately, if the benefits seem to outweigh the risks, medicine would take the chance. ”

Read Engineering the Perfect Baby, on technologyreview
by Antonio Regalado, March 5, 2015.

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