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Virologist reinstated; doc required for genetic tests; artificial airway patient is well

Written byJef Akst

| 3 min read

This week's news includes the reinstatement of a Japanese virologist fired last year for data manipulation, an FDA advisory panel recommendation that genetic tests only be performed with a doctor's supervision, an update on the first ever artificial airway transplant patient, a warning about the authenticity of seeds in seed banks, and a curious connection between toenails and lung cancer.Japanese virologist reinstatedLast August, virologist Naoki Mori was fired from the University of the Ryukyus in Nishihara, Japan, after an investigation concluded that his research group was guilty of manipulating images in up to 38 published papers (at least 16 of which have been retracted, according to Retraction Watch). Now, after more than six months in court, Mori has convinced the university to reduce his sentence to a 10-month suspension and to allow him to return to his job in June. While Mori admits reusing images without proper attribution, he claims that the papers' results and the conclusions drawn from them are accurate, linkrul:according to ScienceInsider.;http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/03/dismissed-virologist-gets-job-ba.htmlDoctor's supervision required

Image: Wikimedia commons, Filip em

A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has recommended that personalized genetic tests should only be conducted under the supervision of a doctor because the results they yield can be ambiguous or misleading to lay people. "I would suggest that we are not ready yet to put this completely in the consumer's hands," said panelist Joann Boughman of the American Society of Human Genetics at the meeting in Washington, DC, on Tuesday (March 8). "Each test is complex, and when you have each provider doing slightly different tests, it complicates it even more." (linkurl:Hat tip to Los Angeles Times);http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-genetic-testing-20110309,0,4375925.storyArtificial airway patient is wellA 78-year-old lung cancer patient who received the world's first artificial airway more than 15 months ago is doing well, according to a paper published this month in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. The October 2009 transplant made it possible for doctors to avoid the more dramatic measure of completely removing the lung. "Our procedure followed 10 years of research," thoracic and vascular surgeon Emmanuel Martinod, who carried out the surgery, linkurl:told AFP,;http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110303/hl_afp/healthfrancegraft;_ylt=A0LEaoDj729NvRoAaA.WSbYF;_ylu=X3oDMTJwMWx0YmE1BGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDMwMy9oZWFsdGhmcmFuY2VncmFmdARwb3MDMjMEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDd29ybGRmaXJzdGFy adding however that "we must remain very prudent."Wrong seeds in storageWith climate change threatening the diversity of the world's crops, many farmers and scientists are turned to gene or seed banks to preserve unique cultivars. The linkurl:indigenous farmers of Peru,;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/58037/ for example, just launched a project to send more than 1,500 varieties of potatoes -- a staple of their diet and culture -- to Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault for safekeeping. But a new study published in the March/April 2011 issue of Crop Science suggests that many seed bank seeds are not from the original cultivar.A large lettuce collection housed in a Dutch seed bank, for example, contained many seeds that were labeled as the same cultivar, but had different genomes. Even some varieties put away more recently lacked authenticity. "I did suspect there might be a problem with the authenticity of the seeds... but I did not realize the problem to be this large," coauthor Mark van de Wouw of the Centre for Genetic Resources and Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands linkurl:said in a press release.;http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/574205/?sc=dwhr&xy=10000760 While the practice of storing seeds is improving, he added, "the level of mislabeling in the past has apparently been high." Toenails predict cancer?Toenails may prove valuable in assessing one's risk of lung cancer, thanks to the nicotine levels that accumulate in the slow-growing nails. An analysis of nail clippings from 850 men over 12 years revealed that those with the highest levels of nicotine in their toenails were three-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than those with the lowest, according to a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. (linkurl:Hat tip to FierceBiotech Research);http://www.fiercebiotechresearch.com/story/scientists-sink-claws-toenails-cancer-marker/2011-03-07?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:Preserving potatoes and culture;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/58037/
[4th March 2011]*linkurl:New Smoking Gun?;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/57240/
[April 2010]*linkurl:Consumer genetic tests on trial;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/24223/
[2nd August 2006]

Meet the Author

Jef Akst

Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.

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