Giant study poses DNA data-sharing dilemma
A commonly discussed issue: should the information about disease risk, especially genetic data be shared with participants. Some say participants should at least have the right to know their personal data to investigate their own health, but some specialists say showing participants their data is irresponsible for the information can’t be interpreted by every person. The significance is always uncertain. People who get know of their health data might worry excessively or seek unnecessary medical tests. “Unless you give people the tools and the skills to deal with raw data, I don’t see how you could give them the raw data.” said Brian Van Ness, a geneticist at the university of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

 
Nanoparticles disguised as blood-cell fragments slip past body’s immune defence
Researchers led by Liangfang Zhang at the University of California, San Diego claimed that they have found a way to smuggle drug-carrying nanoparticles past the body’s immune system by camouflaging them to look like cell fragments found in human blood. Created from plastic or mental, man-made nanoparticles are often attacked and swallowed up by the body’s natural denfence system for they are regarded as foreign invaders. The new particles can not only evade the detection but also exploit the natural properties of platelets to treat bacterial infections and to repair damaged blood vessels more effectively than traditional drug delivering methods. The next step for their team, Zhang says is to make larger amount of the disguised nanoparticles and to test their use in larger animals before applying to humans.

 
Dramatic rise seen in antibiotic use

A new report provided the most comprehensive picture of antibiotic use and resistance all over the world. Antibiotic use is growing steadily worldwide, driven mainly by the rising demand in low- and middle- income countries. The report shows that global antibiotic consumption grew by 30% between the year of 2000 and the year of 2010. And the growth is driven by the needs in countries like South Africa and India. The report also found that the use of antibiotics in livestock is growing worldwide. And the problem is particularly serious in China, which consumed around 15,000 tons of antibiotics for this purpose in the year of 2010. And the consumption is projected to be doubled by 2030 in this country.