|
Health
|
|
Who's Looking at Your DNA?
|
|
|
|
DNA samples may provide clues for law enforcement
|
|
|
When people add their DNA to the growing universe of genealogy databases, they expect to learn about their ancestry or find new relations. They may not expect to encounter law-enforcement officials investigating crimes. But as these databases expand, so too are the uses of that information. That includes finding people with genetic links to criminals and their victims based on DNA at crime scenes. The decision about what uses are permissible rests with the company that controls the database. Sometimes it rests with a single person.
When the CEO of FamilyTreeDNA was approached by the FBI to let investigators use the company's database, it seemed like a no-brainer if it could help solve crimes. But as Amy Dockser Marcus reports in the latest installment of her DNA-testing series, not everyone is comfortable with that.
What are your thoughts about the expanding uses of DNA databases? Are the companies doing enough to inform users about outside entities that access the data, like law enforcement? Email me your comments, which may be edited before publication in the newsletter. Please be sure to include your name and location.
– Stefanie Ilgenfritz, Health & Science Bureau Chief, WSJ
Reach me at stefanie.ilgenfritz@wsj.com or Twitter: @stefaniei
|
|
|
|
Can Dancing Prevent Dementia? Studies have shown that exercise in general results in cognitive improvements. Researchers suspect dancing might be beneficial because it’s not only exercise, but also requires socializing.
|
|
|
Health Insurers Expand ACA Offerings: Companies including Oscar, Cigna and Centene are moving into new markets with Affordable Care Act plans for next year, as the once-troubled business becomes more profitable.
|
|
|
More Women May Need Testing for Cancer-Linked Genes: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its advisory on who should be tested for mutations of BRCA genes that are tied to breast and ovarian cancer, adding women with previous cancer diagnoses.
|
|
|
|
$60 Million
|
Federal funding that Planned Parenthood will forgo as it withdraws from the Title X family-planning program rather than comply with a new rule preventing clinics from referring patients for abortions. (Read more)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vaping in the Classroom: Kids used to duck into the school bathroom to sneak a drag on a cigarette. But with the electronic kind, they are increasingly daring, vaping nicotine and even pot right under their teachers’ noses.
|
|
Vaping Is Suspected in Severe Lung Illnesses: U.S. health authorities are investigating 153 cases, mostly in teens and young adults, who developed severe lung illnesses after using e-cigarettes. Some patients spent days in ICUs.
|
|
|
|
|
If you tracked all the stress you deal with at work for a week, what would it look like? Our digital science editor, Daniela Hernandez, examines the health consequences of stress in our Science of Work video series.
|
|
|
-
Two Drugmakers Closing In on Opioid Settlements (Read more)
-
Bayer to Sell Animal-Health Unit to Elanco for $7.6 Billion (Read more)
-
Novartis CEO Battles Fallout from Data Manipulation (Read more)
|
|
|
Q&A:
|
Regarding last week's question on exercise routines, I got a wide range of responses. Not a few of them mentioned walking the dog:
|
|
|
|
Got rid of my car. I bicycle to work, shop, etc. Admittedly, there are times mid-winter when it's 10 degrees Fahrenheit out, I find myself questioning certain life choices. — Keith Bierman, Englewood Colo.
For about 8-9 months of the year (weather permitting), we ride a tandem about 20 miles a day, 6 days a week from Missoula to Lolo, MT. In deep winter we go to the nearby gym. Couldn't do 20 miles on a stationary bike due to life threatening boredom. — Brian Fox, Missoula, Mont.
Working out with and around other people motivates me, for some reason. — Jack Stanley, Las Vegas, Nev.
Six days a week I swim laps at the YMCA (just over a mile each time). I also walk my dog two miles on the beach four days a week, and pick up washed up marine debris, like plastic and nets. I drag about 50 to 75 lbs of trash about a quarter mile to the garbage cans in a week. The outdoors works wonders for my attitude! — Maimona Ghows, Kailua, Ohahu, Hawaii
The one and only exercise I've been able to consistently maintain is walking my dog 40 minutes first thing in the morning. It's good for him but better for me. Several years ago I was going to buy a kayak and take up kayak fishing but my oldest son said, "Dad, don't buy a kayak, you'll never use it. You like the IDEA of kayak fishing but you won't do it." He couldn't have been more right. — Wayne Wisniewski, Houston, Texas
I prefer team sports such as indoor soccer because of the variability in heart rates as you chase, run, kick or jump for the ball during the games. Furthermore, it is an extra motivation to keep fit during the week in order to be at peak performance for the games. I liken it to mixed-interval training with a mixture of slow and dash sprints. —Nnamdi Nzelibe, Annapolis, Md.
|
|
|
|
|
LEAVE THIS BOX EMPTY
|