] When your results are ready Project Director Dr. Spencer
] Wells will introduce you to your earliest human
] relatives the members of your specific haplogroup.
] You'll receive a personalized genetic analysis, including
] an online overview of your deep ancestral history. The
] analysis reveals where and when your haplogroup
] originated and how they lived. You'll also receive a
] dynamic map, specific to your lineage, on which to trace
] your relatives' journeys across the planet.

At first glace this seems neat. For $100 you can send a DNA sample to National Geographic. They'll sequence part of it and line it up with a particular subgroup of African ancestors, and provide information about how those ancestors travelled across the planet.

However, upon consideration I'm wondering if DNA analysis is really nessecary. If you were of African descent it might be interesting, but how many haplogroups migrated to Europe? A handful. Most English/Irish/French/Spanish come from one haplogroup. Some english people come from one of the others. If you are of eastern european descent or if you might be native american things get more interesting it appears.

Also, aren't there still debates raging about how native americans got here? You'd think if they could perform this sort of genetic match accurately they could resolve whether native americans are asian, european, or a combination of the two... The website seems to show no relationship between native americans and european haplogroups, but it was my understanding that there is some confusion about this. Its possible that abberant data is written off (possibly incorrectly) as post colonial genetic mixing...

Your Genetic Journey - The Genographic Project

] A 70-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex recently
] discovered in Montana, scientists reported today, has
] apparently yielded the improbable: soft tissues,
] including blood vessels and possibly cells, that "retain
] some of their original flexibility, elasticity and
] resilience."

The New York Times - Newly Found Dinosaur Tissue Raises Hope of Extracting DNA

] The study reports that the cell lines currently approved
] for study under federal funding contain a sialic acid
] called N-glycolylneuraminic acid, or Neu5Gc.
]
]
] Human embryonic stem cells are contaminated by this acid
] "even when grown in special culture conditions with
] commercially available serum replacements, apparently
] because these are also derived from animal products,"
] said the lead researcher, Dr. Ajit Varki. Human cells are
] unable to make the acid, Varki said. In earlier research
] he had found that humans have antibodies directed against
] Neu5Gc.

Wired News: Stem Cell Lines Compromised?

] In a demonstration that holds promise for future advances
] in nanotechnology, California Institute of Technology
] computer scientists have succeeded in building a DNA
] crystal that computes as it grows. As the computation
] proceeds, it creates a triangular fractal pattern in the
] DNA crystal.

[ Cool. -k]

Caltech computer scientists embed computation in a DNA crystal to create microscopic patterns

] The discovery could also explain why some people are more
] susceptible to addiction -- they may have a morphine
] deficiency.
]
] "All of a sudden," Stefano said, "(morphine-deficient
] individuals) take this compound (and) it really makes
] them feel not only good but normal."
]
] A morphine deficiency could also be the cause of some
] chronic pain, Stefano said.

"Morphine deficiency" reminds me of the joke in the opening paragraph of Neuromancer.

Wired News: Humans naturally produce Morphine

] Panayiotis Zavos, of the Kentucky Center for Reproductive
] Medicine, Lexington, US, say his team has shown that
] cells taken from humans after death could be used for
] cloning. This latest work is purely experimental and no
] embryos were implanted for cloning, said Zavos,
] announcing the results at his own press conference in
] London, UK.
]
] However, the claims were immediately met with both
] revulsion and scepticism from the UK scientific
] community.
]
] "The work is both scientifically questionable and
] ethically unacceptable," says Richard Gardner of the
] UK Royal Society's working group on stem cell research
] and cloning. "It is grossly misleading to suggest
] that you can replicate a loved one by producing a cloned
] person with the same genetic material."

Article: Cloning from the dead claim attacked | New Scientist

] "There is an opportunity here because the
] oligonucleotides contain a lot of information which can
] be used to track and monitor what is being done with
] them."

A very interesting article on EE Times on the Bill Joy tip.

EE Times -Experts worry that synthetic biology may spawn biohackers

[ Just wanted to take a minute to give a shout-out to Marie for completing her Qualifying exams today!

We all know you kicked they ass!

When does the drinking start? ;) -k]

Congratulations, Nanochick!

] Scientists have created a miniature medical computer out
] of DNA that can detect cancer genes in a test tube and
] respond by releasing a drug. Proving what had been only a
] concept, the feat offers a vision of how medicine might
] look in the future.

Injectable Medibots: Programmable DNA could diagnose and treat cancer: Science News Online, May 1, 2004

] State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, in a press
] release Thursday morning, said she would ask that the
] word evolution be put back in the state's proposed
] curriculum.
]
] "I made the decision to remove the word evolution from
] the draft of the proposed biology curriculum in an effort
] to avoid controversy that would prevent people from
] reading the substance of the document itself," wrote Cox.
] "Instead, a greater controversy ensued."

GA Superintendent backs down on Evolution