Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno was sentenced Friday (August 28, 2026) to 5 years in prison after a court found him guilty of accepting bribes from a Chinese company in exchange for helping it secure a contract to build a hydroelectric plant
Can you name a single woman Renaissance master? Updated on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:08:29 IST By Gowri S Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link The bias in art history has marginalized women's contributions, leading to forgotten works. From forgotten Renaissance masters to overlooked abstract pioneers:
Mohan Bhagwat billboard appears in Times Square ahead of RSS chief’s New York eventVideos showed his image prominently displayed at the iconic Manhattan location ahead of the August 29 programme. Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:42:58 IST By HT News Desk Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link A
Techie who started career with TCS reveals ‘things that surprised’ him after joining MicrosoftThe techie talked about various perks offered to employees at Microsoft and how his outlook towards corporate world changed after joining the company. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026
A federal judge on Friday (August 28, 2026) ruled that laws that President Donald Trump’s administration used to cancel visas and initiate deportation proceedings against noncitizen college students based on their pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel are unconstitutional
Sweating more doesn’t mean burning more fat: Fitness trainer busts common workout myths, reveals what actually works Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:13:43 IST By Akanksha Agnihotri Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Fitness trainer Chadoy Leon emphasises that soreness and sweat do not equate
Across the globe in Australia, a toddler with speech delays delighted her family with her first word - "orange" - after she and her twin sister received a free book in the post about colours. It came from Imagination Library, the literacy programme begun by late global superstar Dolly Parton
Congress leaders on Friday alleged that Penguin Random House India succumbed to pressure from the Union government with respect to former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that the publisher was under pressure
Should every baby’s DNA be sequenced
Should every baby’s DNA be sequenced?
Should every baby’s DNA be sequenced?
The genomic generation is on its way
Published on: Jun 30, 2026 5:55 PM IST The Economist Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link WHEN FREDDIE was born in April 2025, he seemed like a healthy baby. But at four weeks old, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer. He was treated with photo-activated chemotherapy, in which a laser guides cell-destroying medicine to exactly where it is needed. Because Freddie’s cancer was caught early, he has a greatly improved chance of growing up with normal eyesight. Freddie is part of the Generation Study, an English programme which plans to sequence the complete genetic code of 100,000 babies. (Representative Image/Unsplash) His diagnosis was so quick because of insights from his DNA. Freddie is part of the Generation Study, an English programme which plans to sequence the complete genetic code of 100,000 babies. The idea is both to screen them for genetic diseases and to use the collected genomic data to boost medical research in future. Similar trials are under way in America, Australia and parts of Europe, to test whether such screening should be offered for all newborns. Supporters hope to transform the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. Critics fret that genomic sequencing may cause needless worry for the parents of healthy babies, and require them to hand over some of the most sensitive data about their children that exists. Many countries screen infants for diseases already. Around the world around 40m babies are screened each year, with about 40,000 having problems detected and treated. Doctors take a sample of the baby’s blood, usually by pricking its heel, and test for proteins and other markers associated with illnesses such as sickle-cell anemia or cystic fibrosis. The most comprehensive screens, such as Italy’s, look for markers of around 50 different diseases. Looking at DNA rather than blood can increase that number dramatically, as well as spotting problems that are yet to emerge. The Generation Study is screening for around 200 genetic conditions that mostly arise during childhood. In America, the BabySeq2 project screened for around 1,000 genes linked to diseases, including some that emerge in adulthood such as breast or ovarian cancer. But although there are big upsides to genetic screening, there are problems too. One is that genes are not always destiny. The average person carries scores of genetic variants that have been linked to diseases. But because of environmental factors, the influence of other genes or chance, most of those conditions never develop. Geneticists use the term “penetrance” to describe the proportion of people with a given disease-causing mutation that actually go on to become ill. Penetrance can vary greatly for different conditions—and there are reasons to think many estimates are too high. Many disease-causing mutations are identified by working backwards: studying people who have already become ill and only then analysing their genomes. That risks inflating the numbers. Take retinoblastoma. Early studies estimated that RB1 mutations had penetrance of more than 90%. But a preprint paper posted in December, which examined several big health databases, found that less than a third of adults with risky RB1 variants have ever had the cancer. “I think historically people have equated genetic information with certainty,” says Caroline Wright a geneticist at the University of Exeter, who conducted the study, “which is quite outdated now”. Testing hundreds of genes with low or middling penetrance could create a large cohort of “patients-in-waiting,” many of whom will never become ill. Uncertain diagnoses cause stress for parents, and for children when they are old enough to understand. In the case of cystic fibrosis there is a name for this sort of diagnostic purgatory: “cystic fibrosis, screen positive inconclusive diagnosis” (CFSPID). Parents of CFSPID children often question the usefulness of receiving the test results in the first place, says Anneke Lucassen, a geneticist at the University of Oxford. Uncertainty is not the only worry. Some of the interventions that follow the detection of a genetic anomaly can cause harm themselves. In the case of retinoblastoma finding a worrying mutation triggers regular eye tests, which have few side-effects beyond inconvenience. But for conditions such as medullary thyroid cancer caused by mutations in the RET gene (where new research also suggests penetrance is much lower than had been thought), a common follow-up is to surgically remove the thyroid gland. Besides the risks from the surgery itself, that leaves patients dependent on artificial thyroid hormones for the rest of their lives. There are solutions to some of these issues. Results could be given for only genetic variants which give rise to treatable illnesses, and which are known to have high penetrance—though that might upset those who would prefer to know everything. Careful communication with parents can also reduce stress and improve their understanding of a test’s limitations. Part of the goal for the trials is to explore exactly these sorts of questions. Welcome to the gene pool Screening is only half the story. A second goal of most of these programmes is to store the genomes, attached to each child’s medical records, and use them in future research. Such databases can be very useful. Data from the 100,000 Genomes Project, a British initiative that collected genomes from patients with rare diseases and their families, allowed a team of researchers at Oxford University to discover genetic variants that cause a neurodevelopmental disorder in children, for example. The data could also be used to predict drug side-effects or how patients might respond to different treatments. Over the course of the babies’ lifetimes, the sorts of insights that are possible will almost certainly expand enormously. “I’m completely confident that our ability to understand the genome will improve,” says Ewan Birney, director of the European Bioinformatics Institute. “AI is giving us a massive boost to that.” On the other hand, a person’s genome is among the most personal and sensitive information there is. For some researchers and parents, the idea of storing it indefinitely is a major sticking point. There have been several leaks of genetic or medical information in recent years. In 2023 hackers stole the genetic and personal information of 6.9m customers of 23andMe, a beleaguered direct-to-consumer genetic testing company. Earlier this year, the health information of around 500,000 people from the UK Biobank, a big repository of health and genetic data, was discovered for sale on Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce website. The same advances in genetics that enable new treatments are also likely to enable new uses for genetic information outside of medicine. In America, insurers can already use genetic test results when setting premiums (in Australia and Britain this is mostly banned). Insights from DNA could be used for blackmail, for instance around questions of paternity. Jan Friedmen, a geneticist at the University of British Colombia, worries that many of the proposed screening programmes suffer from “mission creep”, with most requiring parents to sign up to both screening and the long-term storage of their child’s data for research. “You can’t take part in one without taking part in the other,” says Dr Lucassen of the University of Oxford, yet “they’re so different.” Screening programmes are usually judged on whether the benefits to the patients being screened outweigh the costs of providing it. Medical research, by contrast, is justified by benefits that are uncertain, which lie years in the future, and often accrue to other people. Genomic screening programmes for newborns are attempting to do both at once, and with patients that are incapable of consenting to boot. The benefits could be enormous. But the ethics look fraught. Home/Science/Should Every Baby’s DNA Be Sequenced?WHEN FREDDIE was born in April 2025, he seemed like a healthy baby. But at four weeks old, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of eye cancer. He was treated with photo-activated chemotherapy, in which a laser guides cell-destroying medicine to exactly where it is needed. Because Freddie’s cancer was caught early, he has a greatly improved chance of growing up with normal eyesight.
His diagnosis was so quick because of insights from his DNA. Freddie is part of the Generation Study, an English programme which plans to sequence the complete genetic code of 100,000 babies. The idea is both to screen them for genetic diseases and to use the collected genomic data to boost medical research in future.
Similar trials are under way in America, Australia and parts of Europe, to test whether such screening should be offered for all newborns. Supporters hope to transform the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. Critics fret that genomic sequencing may cause needless worry for the parents of healthy babies, and require them to hand over some of the most sensitive data about their children that exists.
Many countries screen infants for diseases already. Around the world around 40m babies are screened each year, with about 40,000 having problems detected and treated. Doctors take a sample of the baby’s blood, usually by pricking its heel, and test for proteins and other markers associated with illnesses such as sickle-cell anemia or cystic fibrosis. The most comprehensive screens, such as Italy’s, look for markers of around 50 different diseases.
Looking at DNA rather than blood can increase that number dramatically, as well as spotting problems that are yet to emerge. The Generation Study is screening for around 200 genetic conditions that mostly arise during childhood. In America, the BabySeq2 project screened for around 1,000 genes linked to diseases, including some that emerge in adulthood such as breast or ovarian cancer.
But although there are big upsides to genetic screening, there are problems too. One is that genes are not always destiny. The average person carries scores of genetic variants that have been linked to diseases. But because of environmental factors, the influence of other genes or chance, most of those conditions never develop. Geneticists use the term “penetrance” to describe the proportion of people with a given disease-causing mutation that actually go on to become ill. Penetrance can vary greatly for different conditions—and there are reasons to think many estimates are too high. Many disease-causing mutations are identified by working backwards: studying people who have already become ill and only then analysing their genomes. That risks inflating the numbers.
Take retinoblastoma. Early studies estimated that RB1 mutations had penetrance of more than 90%. But a preprint paper posted in December, which examined several big health databases, found that less than a third of adults with risky RB1 variants have ever had the cancer. “I think historically people have equated genetic information with certainty,” says Caroline Wright a geneticist at the University of Exeter, who conducted the study, “which is quite outdated now”.
Testing hundreds of genes with low or middling penetrance could create a large cohort of “patients-in-waiting,” many of whom will never become ill. Uncertain diagnoses cause stress for parents, and for children when they are old enough to understand. In the case of cystic fibrosis there is a name for this sort of diagnostic purgatory: “cystic fibrosis, screen positive inconclusive diagnosis” (CFSPID). Parents of CFSPID children often question the usefulness of receiving the test results in the first place, says Anneke Lucassen, a geneticist at the University of Oxford.
Uncertainty is not the only worry. Some of the interventions that follow the detection of a genetic anomaly can cause harm themselves. In the case of retinoblastoma finding a worrying mutation triggers regular eye tests, which have few side-effects beyond inconvenience. But for conditions such as medullary thyroid cancer caused by mutations in the RET gene (where new research also suggests penetrance is much lower than had been thought), a common follow-up is to surgically remove the thyroid gland. Besides the risks from the surgery itself, that leaves patients dependent on artificial thyroid hormones for the rest of their lives.
There are solutions to some of these issues. Results could be given for only genetic variants which give rise to treatable illnesses, and which are known to have high penetrance—though that might upset those who would prefer to know everything. Careful communication with parents can also reduce stress and improve their understanding of a test’s limitations. Part of the goal for the trials is to explore exactly these sorts of questions.
Welcome to the gene pool
Screening is only half the story. A second goal of most of these programmes is to store the genomes, attached to each child’s medical records, and use them in future research. Such databases can be very useful. Data from the 100,000 Genomes Project, a British initiative that collected genomes from patients with rare diseases and their families, allowed a team of researchers at Oxford University to discover genetic variants that cause a neurodevelopmental disorder in children, for example.
The data could also be used to predict drug side-effects or how patients might respond to different treatments. Over the course of the babies’ lifetimes, the sorts of insights that are possible will almost certainly expand enormously. “I’m completely confident that our ability to understand the genome will improve,” says Ewan Birney, director of the European Bioinformatics Institute. “AI is giving us a massive boost to that.”
On the other hand, a person’s genome is among the most personal and sensitive information there is. For some researchers and parents, the idea of storing it indefinitely is a major sticking point. There have been several leaks of genetic or medical information in recent years. In 2023 hackers stole the genetic and personal information of 6.9m customers of 23andMe, a beleaguered direct-to-consumer genetic testing company. Earlier this year, the health information of around 500,000 people from the UK Biobank, a big repository of health and genetic data, was discovered for sale on Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce website.
The same advances in genetics that enable new treatments are also likely to enable new uses for genetic information outside of medicine. In America, insurers can already use genetic test results when setting premiums (in Australia and Britain this is mostly banned). Insights from DNA could be used for blackmail, for instance around questions of paternity.
Jan Friedmen, a geneticist at the University of British Colombia, worries that many of the proposed screening programmes suffer from “mission creep”, with most requiring parents to sign up to both screening and the long-term storage of their child’s data for research. “You can’t take part in one without taking part in the other,” says Dr Lucassen of the University of Oxford, yet “they’re so different.”
Screening programmes are usually judged on whether the benefits to the patients being screened outweigh the costs of providing it. Medical research, by contrast, is justified by benefits that are uncertain, which lie years in the future, and often accrue to other people. Genomic screening programmes for newborns are attempting to do both at once, and with patients that are incapable of consenting to boot. The benefits could be enormous. But the ethics look fraught.
Source: HindustanTimes
Related Posts: Under 5% of disease-focussed genomic studies conducted in low Trump's proposed Iran peace deal hinges on risky plan of sequenced rewards For Every Generation Every Step Matters Shoes for Every Comfort Not every CCTV camera fits every home Every swing, every stat If DNA is the instruction manual DNA found on towel linked to Charlie Kirk's murder suspect Tyler Robinson DNA Decodes | RSS James Watson, Nobel prize-winning DNA pioneer
Liverpool have agreed a deal worth up to £123m for Paris St-Germain forward Bradley Barcola. PSG initially valued the France attacker at £145m, but the Reds have agreed a package worth an initial £106m with £17m in potential add-ons. The 23-year-old is expected to have a medical this weekend
1 days ago
AIMIM expels Telangana MLC Mirza Rahmath Baig; asks him to resign from postThe party has not officially disclosed the grounds for Baig’s expulsion. It is also not immediately known whether he was served any prior notice Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:59:53 IST By Srinivasa Rao Apparasu
1 days ago
Trends on social media have people in a chokehold. Whether it is a specific Starbucks drink, Labubus, pumpkin spice for autumn or flip-flops making a comeback, it is inevitable that people get carried away with these trends and want to jump on the bandwagon. However
1 days ago
Blaak lauds Savita-Bichoo camaraderie in women, flags post-Sreejesh goalkeeping gap in menBlaak lauds Savita-Bichoo camaraderie in women, flags post-Sreejesh goalkeeping gap in men Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 14:06:35 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Amstelveen
1 days ago
SC to hear plea seeking mandatory disclosure of ethanol content in petrol on Aug 31SC to hear plea seeking mandatory disclosure of ethanol content in petrol on Aug 31 Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:21:21 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link New Delhi
1 days ago
A group of passengers travelling in Delhi were surprised when a cab ride that had a base fare of Rs 1,285 ended with a bill of Rs 5,662. They had booked the car for six hours and expected to cover around 60 km during the trip. The passengers had used Ola to travel from a hotel in Mahipalpur to
1 days ago
A federal judge has ruled in favour of artificial intelligence company Anthropic in its legal battle against the Pentagon after the government labeled the company as a supply chain risk earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a written order Thursday night that the Pentagon acted
1 days ago
Bored of oats? Chef Kunal Kapur's soft moong dal idli with smoky roasted tomato chutney recipe is perfect for breakfast Updated on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:09:28 IST By Sanya Panwar Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Here's how to make chef Kunal Kapur's moong dal idli + roasted tomato chutney
1 days ago
King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died on Friday (August 28, 2026). He was 89. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo
1 days ago
Suspected Pakistan drone spotted near LoC in Poonch; Jammu and Kashmir on high alertSecurity forces are searching nearby areas for any weapons, contraband or other material that the drone may have dropped, and to prevent further incursions. Published on: Aug 29, 2026
1 days ago
How Xi Jinping turned oil from a weakness into a geopolitical weaponChina’s crude reserves have given it huge power over the global oil market—and a critical new defense against the West. Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:00:55 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Before the U.S
1 days ago
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding Maratha reservation. He accuses the Maharashtra Chief Minister of holding a grudge against the community. Jarange also called for the elimination of the caste verification committee
1 days ago
Over a decade has passed since India sought to reorient its grand strategic discourse from continental to maritime Asia and anchored its vision of international order in the Indian Ocean Region. In justifying this maritime turn within India’s national security discourse
1 days ago
Early on Wednesday, Sudipto Bhattacharya received what would be the last messages from his wife. She'd sent a picture of a departure stamp in her passport at 07:57 (02:27 GMT) - immigration at the Nepal border was done. Six minutes later, at 08:03, she wrote: we are waiting to enter China
1 days ago
Losing a corporate job can affect more than just a person’s income. For one 29-year-old man, months without work left him struggling with his daily routine and questioning his sense of purpose. After being fired in April, he received a nine-month severance package and had enough savings to manage
1 days ago
A U.S. federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's executive order on Thursday (August 27, 2026) curbing the use of mail-in ballots, the latest twist in a legal dispute months before November's midterm elections. Mr. Trump signed an order in March seeking to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the
1 days ago
How international supermarkets can break up a dinner rut without costing a fortune Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:20:18 IST AP Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link How international supermarkets can break up a dinner rut without costing a fortune How international supermarkets can break up a
1 days ago
Subhash Chandra case: Why banks lose money in personal guarantor claimsThe insolvency court’s approval of Zee Group founder Subhash Chandra's ₹6.5 crore repayment plan has raised questions about how much banks can recover. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026
1 days ago
The Parivartan scheme aims to phase out polluting commercial vehicles in Delhi-NCR. Over 25,000 registrations are expected by October under this initiative. Beneficiaries will receive various incentives for vehicle replacement. Fifteen major manufacturers have signed agreements for vehicle
1 days ago
A US judge on Friday awarded nearly $147 million in to plaintiffs' lawyers who won a $425 million jury verdict against Alphabet's Google in a last year, while denying the company's bid for an order rejecting the jury's verdict.Here are the details:US District in San Francisco granted the fee
1 days ago
A controversy broke out in Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar area after 3,400 special intensive revision forms were found at a private photocopy shop, The Indian Express reported on Friday. Five booth-level officers were suspended pending disciplinary action by the Raigad district collector after the matter
1 days ago
Following sharp criticism from the Supreme Court over prolonged regulatory delays, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed mandatory front-of-pack (FoP) warning labels for packaged foods containing excessive added sugar, saturated fat, and salt
1 days ago
From forced labour to living heritage: Sao Tome's colonial plantations Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:22:20 IST AFP Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link From forced labour to living heritage: Sao Tome's colonial plantations From forced labour to living heritage: Sao Tome's colonial plantations
1 days ago
‘ ₹5.93 lakh for two’: Indian couple’s detailed breakdown of 13-day New Zealand honeymoon tripThe couple shared that their initial estimate was ₹8 lakh, but with meticulous planning, they reduced their spending to less than ₹6 lakh. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026
1 days ago
Following Maharashtra’s lead, the state of Haryana has also tightened regulations on private coaching centres. One of the biggest rules that has been introduced is that school going students will not be allowed to attend coaching classes during school hours.Following Maharashtra’s lead
1 days ago
Bengaluru ‘Peptide Party’ cancelled: Founder breaks silence, says ‘our intent was… never harm’Upsurge Labs founder breaks silence after food regulator notice cancels Bengaluru ‘Peptide party’ following backlash. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026, 09:49:19 IST By Trisha Sengupta Prefer HTon
1 days ago
The festive season has begun in India, and one thing that is constant is Indians making or buying sweets to distribute among family and friends. However, the price of milk in some Indian states is set to rise come September 1. According to reports
1 days ago
