I wrote earlier this week about genome sequencing of famous dead celebrities, pointing out that the trend seems full of ethical complexities.
Genome news
More broadly, sequencing the genomes of non-celebrities from hundreds or thousands of years ago can be important research. A new NYT piece covers such work on the Swahili people. Such research still requires careful consideration and ethical practices.
An earlier NYT piece pointed out by Steve Joffe on genome sequencing relating to prominent Indigenous peoples of North America highlights some of the challenges in this area.
Then there’s this from the BBC on Why the human genome was never completed. How many times have we heard that the whole human genome has been sequenced? In actuality, every time there have been gaps, often related to pesky repeat regions. These are tough to fully and accurately sequence. Just in the last year I remember reading that finally it was actually done. This new article says it’s still not done but could be soon.
Other recommended reads
- Basal stem cell progeny establish their apical surface in a junctional niche during turnover of an adult barrier epithelium, Nat Cell Bio.
- Dynamics of Chromatin Accessibility during Hematopoietic Stem Cell Differentiation into Progressively Lineage-Committed Progeny, Stem Cells.
- Generation of functional thymic organoids from human pluripotent stem cells, Stem Cell Reports.