TUESDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- A person's risk of cancer increases if he or she suffers from DNA-damaging chronic inflammation of the intestine or stomach, such as ulcerative colitis, according to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Their findings, confirmed in two studies the researchers did on mice, were published in the June 2 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Wednesday signed legislation to protect people from losing their jobs or health insurance when genetic testing reveals they are susceptible to costly diseases.

Broadly embraced in Congress, the anti-discrimination measure aims to ensure that advances in DNA testing won't end up being used against people.

The new law forbids employers and insurance companies from denying employment, promotions or health coverage to people when genetic tests show they have a predisposition to cancer, heart disease or other ailments.

TUESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say DNA tests may be able to tell doctors which embryos tabbed for in vitro fertilization (IVF) are most likely to result in the births of healthy babies.

The technique, discussed in a report published online May 14 in Human Reproduction, could also help fertility experts prevent accidental multiple pregnancies in their IVF patients.

MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- New studies in the field of epigenetics -- which looks at how environmental factors can change gene function without altering DNA sequence -- are identifying new molecular targets that may lead to improved drug treatment of depression, scientists report.

THURSDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- The oldest human DNA ever found in the Americas appears to show genetic links to Siberia or East Asia, according to an international team of scientists.

By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have found that deletions and duplications in DNA are more common in people with schizophrenia, and these errors are in genes related to brain development and neurological function.

You can now pick up a paternity test kit at your local drug store for about $30.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/03/25/d...

Availability and access are fantastic concepts in this arena, but willingness to take the test may be another story entirely. Apparently the results of the test don't fly in court. Turns out, you have to pay the $120 to make it legally binding.

Thoughts on this? Think the people who need to use it will use it?

TUESDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- A new study confirms previous findings that human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA-based tests are more accurate than Pap smears in detecting precancerous lesions.

By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- In the largest such examination of human genetic diversity yet conducted, an international team of geneticists has used clues in DNA to track differences and similarities between people around the globe.

By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have compiled a mass of detailed DNA information that could help reconstruct the genetic history of humans.