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Personality genes strongly linked to learning, memory

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Granada, Spain, used artificial intelligence techniques to identify gene networks that appear to play a major role in the development of and variation in personality.

Using artificial intelligence techniques, researchers studying the role of genes and the environment in shaping our personalities have identified gene networks largely responsible for the development of and variation in personality.

Those networks include 972 individual genes linked to aspects of personality, such as self-awareness, intentionality which has to do with a person being deliberate or purposeful and creative thinking relating to the purpose and meaning a person hopes to achieve. The findings also suggest that, regardless of genes and environmental factors, individuals still possess the capacity to make choices that also can influence personality and that those choices can result in personality changes over time.

The new research, led by a group at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Granada, Spain, is published Nov. 21 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Personality is an individuals unique pattern of behaviors, feelings and thoughts, and those factors are strong predictors of physical, mental and social health, said the studys senior investigator, C. Robert Cloninger, MD, a professor emeritus in psychiatry at Washington University. A better understanding of how those factors work together could contribute to improvements in psychiatric and general health for people around the world.

Cloninger

Using computer algorithms, they identified three distinct gene networks connected to personality. The networks are related to learning and memory, but the computer algorithms also found that most of the genes in the three personality networks are not only associated with brain activity but also function in many other organs. As a result, development of a healthy, well-integrated personality may influence a persons physical health as well as his or her mental and social health and well-being, Cloninger said.

In addition to genes, a persons environment which might include home life, family income level, education, exposure to violence or poverty, rural or urban life, and other factors also influences personality, he said. Our personalities develop from the actions of both genetic and environmental factors, as well as interactions between genes, and between genes and environment. Although there are many combinations of genetic and environmental influences, as human beings we still have the capacity to freely choose some aspects of how our personalities develop.

The researchers studied gene-environment relationships in more than 2,100 healthy people in Finland who were part of whats called the Young Finns Study. The scientists then replicated those findings in people from other cultures and backgrounds, studying similar genetic data from more than 900 healthy adults in Germany and more than 1,000 adults in South Korea.

We were able to replicate associations between genetic markers and personality traits in all three groups, said co-investigator Igor Zwir, PhD, an assistant professor in psychiatry and an associate professor in computer science and artificial intelligence at the University of Granada, Spain. In all three populations, we found the same associations between personality traits and genetic markers. However, in people within each country, the same gene networks didnt always lead to the same personality traits.

Zwir

Even with the influence of genes and environmental factors, Cloninger noted that an individuals free will also is involved in how his or her personality develops, as well as how it might change over time.

For a long time, mental health professionals felt that personality traits were fixed early in life and that a persons personality didnt really change much, but weve found that personality can and does change and evolve, he said. Some gene networks influence habit learning, which is the gradual acquisition of associations between stimuli and responses that help us learn to make one choice rather than another. Others influence our capacity to set goals and accomplish them intentionally. But when we change our goals and intentions, or the things we value, we actually also modify the ways that these genes work to influence personality. In other words, our character allows us to regulate the way some of these genes function.

The researchers divided personality into two parts: temperament, representing habits and automatic emotional reactions; and character, representing qualities such as cooperativeness, self-directedness and self-transcendence. The way a person develops his or her character shapes the ability to regulate desires and to satisfy goals and values.

Computer algorithms allowed the researchers to identify clusters of genes related to character that regulate temperament through pathways that involve learning. But in addition to their effects on the brain, those genes also may influence overall health and vulnerability to illness. It turned out the healthiest people were able to create healthy ways of living, using their self-awareness and insight.

The researchers also found that some of both temperament and character were passed on from ones parents. About 50% of a persons temperament and character were heritable. In addition, they found that what was inherited involved three distinct ways of learning that are crucial to being healthy and feeling satisfied with life.

Nature and nurture cannot be separated, Cloninger said. We inherit how we learn, and that means we are then able to deliberately and creatively shape how we adapt to lifes challenges and opportunities.

Added Zwir: Although we inherit some of our personality, that still leaves a great deal of room for change. We are uncovering a dynamic system of relationships between gene networks and environmental factors. If you measure personality with our tools and then come back and do it again six months or a year later, you might see changes because personality seems to develop and evolve. Very little of this is fixed. It can be changed in both positive and negative ways.

Zwir I, et al. Three genetic-environmental networks for human personality. Molecular Psychiatry, published online Nov. 21, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0579-x

Also see Cloninger CR, et al. The complex genetics and biology of human temperament: A review of traditional concepts in relation to new molecular findings. Translational Psychiatry, published online Nov. 11, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-019-0621-4

The Young Finns Study was financially supported by the Academy of Finland; the Social Insurance Institution of Finland; Competitive State Research Financing of the Expert Responsibility area of Kuopio, Tampere and Turku University Hospitals, the Juho Vainio Foundation; the Paavo Nurmi Foundation, the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research; the Finnish Cultural Foundation; the Tampere Tuberculosis Foundation; the Emil Aaltonen Foundation; the Yrjo Jahnsson Foundation; the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation; the Diabetes Research Foundation of the Finnish Diabetes Association; an EU Horizon 2020 grant; and the Tampere University Hospital Supporting Foundation. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention supported the study of healthy Germans. The national Healthy Twin Family Register of Korea supported the study of healthy Koreans. In addition, the Anthropedia Foundation and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology supported the collaboration.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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AI helps identify gene, environment networks that shape personality - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

At the start of this decade, the federal government called out consumer DNA testing as a burgeoning scam industry. Little did we know how it would explode in popularity.

In 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published an investigative report that bashed consumer DNA test companies for misleading the public. It accused them of deceptively claiming their products could predict the odds of developing more than a dozen medical conditions; some even went as far to offer equally dubious dietary supplements. The report had followed a similar lambasting of the industry by the GAO in 2006.

Also in 2010, the FDA publicly warned 23andMe and other companies that genetic health tests were considered medical devices and needed to be cleared by the FDA before they could be sold to the public. Three years later, following a lack of response from 23andMe, the agency took the harsh step of temporarily banning 23andMe from selling its health-related tests at all.

Despite these hurdles, the DNA testing industry has nonetheless exploded. According to a report by MIT Technology Review this February, more than 26 million people have had their DNA tested by the biggest names in the industry, with AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and MyHeritage being the top three.

Consumer DNA testing is undoubtedly now mainstreambut its not much less scammy than it was when the decade started.

The industry has existed since the late 1990s. But in 2007, the new kid on the block, 23andMe, became the first company to offer a particular kind of at-home DNA test that was cheap, easy to use, and promised to track back your origins further back than ever before.

23andMes testsand eventually those of its competitorssearch for and analyze the most common genetic variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in our autosomal DNA, the 22 of 23 pairs of chromosomes not used to determine sex. For as little as $99 and a spit sample, these SNP-based tests are advertised to determine a persons ancestry or genetic health risks. But much of this realm of consumer DNA testing, as the GAO report showed, can uncharitably be described as complete bullshit.

The crux of the problem is that our genetics are only a piece of the puzzle that influences our health. Sure, you can sometimes point to a specific gene mutation that always makes someone sick in a specific way if they carry it. But much more often, its a complex, barely understood mix of gene variants that predispose us to develop cancer or heart diseaseand that risk can be amplified or muted by our environment (including the crucial months we spend in the womb).

In the earliest days, companies didnt much care for this complexity, using weak evidence to make sweeping health claims about which genes ought to make you more of a fish eater or develop diabetes.

Following the FDAs ban in 2013, 23andMe spent the next two years devising genetic health tests that wouldnt overpromise. In 2015, it was allowed to sell tests that told people if they carried a recessive mutation for genetic conditions like Broom syndrome and sickle-cell disease. A positive test meant their children would have a 25 percent chance of having the condition if both parents were carriers. Two years later, it became the first company with FDA-approved tests that were allowed to tell people about their risk of developing one of 10 diseases or conditions, such as late-onset Alzheimers or celiac disease.

23andMes return to the health side of things wasnt the only fuse that lit a fire under the consumer DNA industrythe tens of millions in annual advertising now being spent by companies like MyAncestry certainly helped, too. But regardless, the FDAs approval of these tests signaled a new opening in the industry. And unsurprisingly, the industry as a whole has ballooned, as has the glut of scammy services on offer.

Many of these companies now steer clear of making blanket health claims, but it doesnt make them any less laughable. Your DNA results can apparently tell you whether youve found your romantic match, how to be good at soccer, and, like a decade ago, how to find the perfect diet and avoid bloating. Just dont pay attention to the studies showing that theres no consistent link between genes seemingly tied to our nutrition and any actual diet-related conditions.

Its not only the tests vaguely connected to our health that are the problem. As Gizmodo once illustrated, even relying on these DNA tests to figure out your ancestry is a dicey proposition. At best, youre roughly estimating where your recent ancestors lived, but that estimate can vary widely depending on which company does the testing, thanks to the different algorithms they use. And the farther away your lineage is from Europe, the less accurate these tests will be for you, thanks to the fact that the algorithmsas well as the research linking genes to our healthare largely based on the DNA of white Americans and Europeans.

Health and ancestry aside, sharing your DNA with the outside world can have unintended consequences. Law enforcement agencies are now using genealogy databases to solve criminal cases, by connecting anonymous crime scene DNA to DNA submitted to these family tree companies, working backward through distant relatives to identify their suspect. And while some people may be fine with this genetic sleuthing, there are no clear rules on how this data can be used by law enforcementtheres merely the promise by private companies that they will share responsibly. This November, police in Florida obtained a warrant to search through a third-party genealogy database, months after the service had enforced a new opt-in policy meant to let users decide if they wanted their data to be searchable by police in these cases.

At a certain point, it wont even matter whether youve decided to share your DNA. A study last October estimated that once enough peoples DNA is in a databasea scant 2 to 3 percent of any given populationanyone could conceivably track the identity of every person in that population using the same techniques genetic detectives are using now. And researchers have already demonstrated how less scrupulous forces, including hackers, could actively manipulate these databases.

None of this is meant to diminish the real potential of genetics as a field of research and medicine, nor the progress that has been made over the past decade.

Companies like 23andMe rely on detecting thousands of genetic markers still only a tiny slice of our DNA. But the technology that allows a persons entire genome to be sequenced has vastly improved, scaling down its costs and upkeep over the past decade. These techniques can scan a persons whole genome as well as the smaller part of the genome that codes for the proteins our bodys cells make, called the exome.

In 2010, for instance, the company Illumina initially offered its whole genome sequencing at $50,000 a person; this year, Veritas dropped the price of its service to only $600 and says it may soon charge as little as $100.

These innovations have led to large-scale research projects that collect genetic data from hundreds of thousands of people at once. Scientists can scour through these large datasets to find new links between our genes, traits, and medical conditions. This research has helped us better understand longstanding questions about our biology and health. Someday soon, genetic sequencing may also help us optimize the existing medical treatments people get, particularly for conditions like cancer.

Right now, though, its still up in the air how useful this info dump really is to the average person looking to stay healthy.

In March, 23andMe debuted (or more accurately, reintroduced) a service that tells people about their genetic risk of type 2 diabetes. Unlike the tests approved by the FDA, it relies on whats known as a polygenic risk score. This adds up the very small contribution of many genetic markers to a particular condition, which combined might be enough to nudge your overall risk upwards.

The trouble is that these markers have little to do with why you get type 2 diabetesyour age or weight play a much bigger role. And even if the test does consider you genetically unlucky (an average risk difference of 5 percent from a typical person), the advice youll get is the same that anyone hoping for a long, healthy life would get: eat more vegetables and exercise more. This test, as well as many of those offered by the hundreds of big and small DNA testing companies on the market, illustrates the uncertainty of personalized consumer genetics.

The bet that companies like 23andMe are making is that they can untangle this mess and translate their results back to people in a way that wont cross the line into deceptive marketing while still convincing their customers they truly matter. Other companies have teamed up with outside labs and doctors to look over customers genes and have hired genetic counselors to go over their results, which might place them on safer legal and medical ground. But it still raises the question of whether people will benefit from the information they get. And because our knowledge of the relationship between genes and health is constantly changing, its very much possible the DNA test you take in 2020 will tell you a totally different story by 2030.

Given how popular at-home DNA testing has become, theres really no sealing the genie back in the bottle. So if you want to get your genetic horoscope read this holiday, dont let me stop you. But its a big decision you should sleep on. After all, once your DNA is out there, theres no going back.

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Consumer DNA Testing May Be the Biggest Health Scam of the Decade - Gizmodo

The editors ofPLOS Medicine,together with guest editors Sanjay Basu, Karine Clment, Nick Wareham and Ronald Ma, announce a forthcoming Special Issue dedicated to Obesity.Research submissionsare now being invited.

The prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, which can be attributed to a multitude of socio-economic factors. Along with this rising tide of obesity, studies have shown that the levels of childhood obesity are also rapidly increasing worldwide, which prompted several nations to pledge action to tackle childhood obesity at the global level. The latest report from the World Obesity Federation shows that 250million children will be obese by 2030 and very few countries are on track to halt the increase in childhood obesity.

The prevention of obesity at the individual and population level has been a challenge. A complex interplay of socioeconomic, cultural and biological factors can determine whether an individual might be at risk of becoming obese. Similar factors can also influence weight loss, which is a difficult pursuit for obese individuals and drastic losses can be hard to sustain. Being obese has been shown to negatively affect individual health in that it is directly associated with several co-morbidities such as Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

In order to inform clinicians and researchers of new developments in this realm and to facilitate policy changes that can help tackle the global obesity crisis, the editors at PLOS Medicine are delighted to announce that we will be devoting a special issue to the determinants, consequences and treatment of obesity.

With the help of our guest editors Sanjay Basu, Nick Wareham, Karine Clement and Ron Ma we hope to publish high quality research that can directly impact patients, clinicians and policymakers. The guest editors and PLOS Medicine editors are particularly interested in receiving research submissions in the following areas:

We are interested in studies that focus on risk factors of obesity or highlight the burden and the consequences of obesity on an individual and population level. We are seeking research studies that propose novel and/or cost-effective strategies to prevent obesity at the population level.

For further details on how to submit your article for inclusion in this special issue please see plos.io/obesity-call-med-blogand contact the journal at plosmedicine@plos.org with any questions. The submission deadline isFebruary 7th 2020.

Image Credit:TeroVesanlainen, Pixabay

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PLOS Medicine Special Issue: Determinants, consequences and treatment of Obesity | Speaking of Medicine - PLoS Blogs

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc., (NASDAQ: MYGN), a global leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, announced that the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has included the Vectra test in its list of recommended disease activity measures for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The new recommendations were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

The publication titled 2019 Update of the American College of Rheumatology Recommended Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Measures states that the Vectra test is among 11 disease activity measures that met a minimum standard by categorizing into disease activity states and being feasible for regular clinical use, and that Vectra was one of the five most frequently studied RA disease activity measures among 46 evaluated. Currently, there are more than 35 peer-reviewed Vectra journal publications.

We are excited that the Vectra test has been included the ACRs recommendations for disease activity measures. It will provide physicians with an additional option to evaluate their patients with RA, said Elena Hitraya, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Myriad Autoimmune. Vectra objectively measures the inflammation associated with RA and can provide valuable information to help clinicians improve treatment decisions and outcomes for patients with RA.

Three out of four rheumatologists have used Vectra and have ordered more than 900,000 tests for their patients. RA is an autoimmune disease that attacks the patients joints and often affects other organ systems, leading to significant morbidity, increased mortality and financial burden. Approximately 60 percent of people with inadequately treated RA are unable to work by a decade after its onset. The American College of Rheumatology estimates that RA affects 1.5 million people in the United States.

About VectraVectra is a multi-biomarker molecular blood test that provides an objective and personalized measure of inflammatory disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Vectra provides unsurpassed ability to predict radiographic progression and can help guide medical management decisions with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Vectra testing is performed at a state-of-the-art CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) facility. Test results are reported to the physician five to seven days from shipping of the specimen. Physicians can receive test results by fax or the private web portal, VectraView. For more information on Vectra, please visit: http://www.vectrascore.com.

About Myriad GeneticsMyriad Genetics Inc. is a leading precision medicine company dedicated to being a trusted advisor transforming patient lives worldwide with pioneering molecular diagnostics. Myriad discovers and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests that: determine the risk of developing disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease progression, and guide treatment decisions across six major medical specialties where molecular diagnostics can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. Myriad is focused on five critical success factors: building upon a solid hereditary cancer foundation, growing new product volume, expanding reimbursement coverage for new products, increasing RNA kit revenue internationally and improving profitability with Elevate 2020. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: http://www.myriad.com.

Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, myPath, myRisk, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice HRD, EndoPredict, Vectra, GeneSight, riskScore, Prolaris, Foresight and Prequel are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, MYGN-G.

Safe Harbor StatementThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to improving clinician treatment decisions and outcomes for patients with RA; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may decline; risks related to our ability to transition from our existing product portfolio to our new tests, including unexpected costs and delays; risks related to decisions or changes in governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests or our ability to obtain reimbursement for our new tests at comparable levels to our existing tests; risks related to increased competition and the development of new competing tests and services; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and any future tests and services are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities and our healthcare clinic; risks related to public concern over genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we license or acquire; risks related to our projections about our business, results of operations and financial condition; risks related to the potential market opportunity for our products and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents or other intellectual property; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and patents or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court decision in the lawsuit brought against us by the Association for Molecular Pathology et al; risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; the risk that we may be unable to comply with financial operating covenants under our credit or lending agreements; the risk that we will be unable to pay, when due, amounts due under our credit or lending agreements; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

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The American College of Rheumatology Adds the Vectra Test to List of Recommended Disease Activity Measures for Rheumatoid Arthritis - BioSpace

A rare genetic disorder caused three siblings' blood to flood with fat and turn "milky" white, according to a new report of the unusual case.

The three siblings consisted of one set of fraternal twins (a daughter and son) and an older son, all born to a first-cousin couple in a Pennsylvania Dutch family. In their teens and early 20s, all three siblings experienced mysterious symptoms, including bouts of abdominal pain. They had all been diagnosed with hypertriglyceridemia, a fairly common disorder that causes fatty molecules called triglycerides to build up in the blood.

Now in their 50s, the siblings recently underwent genetic testing and learned that they have a condition that's much more rare, affecting only 1 in every million people, according to the case report, published today (Nov. 18) in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Those with the ultrarare disorder, known as familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS), may accumulate more than 1,000 milligrams of triglycerides per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood. For comparison, normal blood levels of the fat should fall below 150 mg/dL, and 500 mg/dL would be considered "very high" in a healthy person, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Indeed, in people with FCS, blood fat levels are so high that the normally crimson fluid turns the color of milk. (FCS is not the only condition that can cause milk-colored blood; the symptom may also appear in people with severe hypertriglyceridemia.)

Related: The Color of Blood: Here Are Nature's Reddest Reds (Photos)

The three siblings had long struggled to keep their triglyceride levels under control and suffered frequent inflammation of the pancreas, also known as pancreatitis a serious condition that can cause abdominal pain, fever and vomiting. At the hospital, the male twin's triglyceride levels reached as high as 5,000 mg/dL, while the other brother's levels peaked at around 6,000 mg/dL. The female twin's triglyceride levels soared highest of all, reaching 7,200 mg/dL at maximum.

The siblings hoped their doctors could help subdue those aggressive symptoms.

To confirm the sibling's rare diagnosis, the doctors looked to their patients' genes. Triglycerides typically build up in the blood due to multiple malfunctioning genes and other related health conditions, such as diabetes or high-blood pressure, according to the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. But when doctors probed the siblings' genetic code, the researchers spotted only one mutated gene that was key for breaking down triglycerides in the body.

In healthy people, the gene contains instructions to build a protein called lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which typically coats the blood vessels that run through muscles and fatty tissues in the body, according to the Genetics Home Reference. LPL breaks down fats carried in the blood; without an adequate supply, the siblings' blood plasma ran thick with excess triglycerides.

Related: How to Speak Genetics: A Glossary

Each sibling carried two copies of the mutated LPL gene, meaning both their parents passed down the mutated genetic code to the children, the case report noted. What's more, the particular genetic mutation in the siblings had never been seen before, the authors said. The doctors placed the siblings on a fat-restricted diet, which successfully stabilized their triglyceride levels and quelled their bouts of pancreatitis. Sometimes, when triglyceride levels spike, doctors must manually replace the fat-filled blood of their patients with healthy blood from donors, Live Science previously reported. Thankfully, the siblings' condition could be curtained with diet alone.

Originally published on Live Science.

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A Rare Genetic Disorder Turned These Siblings' Blood 'Milky' White - Livescience.com

Posted By: Staff WriterNovember 18, 2019

With artificial intelligence and genetic engineeringcontinuing to shape the future of scientific innovation and discovery,questions about the ethical implications only seem to get more complicated.

Additionally, CRISPR a tool for DNA sequencing and geneediting is bringing new technological changes and advancements in a rapidlyshifting landscape.

A panel discussion at Stanford University later thisweek, moderated by Russ Altman a professor of Bioengineering, Genetics,Medicine, Biomedical Data Science and Computer Science at the university, seeksto discuss how AI and CRISPR are influencing these ethical quandaries and howthey might influence the evolutionary process.

The two panelists for the free, sold-out event areleaders in the field. Jennifer Doudna, a professor of chemistry and molecularand cell biology at UC Berkeley, helped discover CRISPR-Cas9. Fei-Fei Li is acomputer science professor at Stanford in the universitys Institute forHuman-Centered Artificial Intelligence. She previously worked at the schoolsAI Lab and at Google.

The Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligenceis hosting for forum at Stanfords CEMEX Auditorium, 655 Knight Way. It is setfor Tuesday, November 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

While the event has sold out of pre-registration tickets,limited general admission will be available at the site. It will also belivestreamed.

To see more details, click here.

To watch the livestream, click here.

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Examining the ethics of scientific discovery - Cupertino Today