Enormous Scientific Demand For Genetic Data Creates Marketplace For People To Sell Or Rent Their DNA
Bio-brokers are taking advantage of the hot precision medicine trend, helping connect people wanting to give their DNA with companies and institutes in need of it.
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Need A Little Extra Money? You'll Soon Be Able To Sell And Rent Your DNA
Feel like earning a little extra money and maybe improving your health at the same time? Consumers will soon be able to sell or rent their DNA to scientists who are trying to fight diseases as different as dementia, lupus and leukemia. Bio-brokers want to collect everything from someone’s 23andMe and Ancestry.com gene data to fully sequenced genomes. (Robbins, 6/3)
In other public health news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
As Opioid Crisis Grows, Medical Schools Bolster Addiction Training
During the three years that Dr. Hannah Snyder worked at San Francisco General Hospital — part of her residency training to become a primary care doctor — she noticed a troubling pattern. ... The experience prompted Snyder, once she completed training in 2017, to begin a yearlong fellowship in addiction medicine. UCSF’s School of Medicine started the program last year, partially in response to the growing need to treat opioid addiction in California and beyond. (Ho, 6/2)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
As Mental Health Subsides In Older Generation, What To Do About Their Guns?
Alzheimer’s San Diego, a nonprofit that provides support and education to patients and their families, started asking about guns in the home several years ago as part of its respite care program, which sends volunteers into households to provide give caregivers a break. They learned that as many as 30 percent of homes they were going into had guns. (Davis, 6/3)