genomeboy.com

Two items of note:

• First, Dr. No has apparently said yes and so GINA appears to be getting her long-awaited day in the sun. Amazingly, we haven’t all expired from old age.

• Second, the ridiculous case against bioartist Steve Kurtz has been dismissed. Sometimes the justice system actually works…on the other hand, I’m not sure it worked terribly well for geneticist (and former teacher of mine) Bob Ferrell:

Originally charged with mail and wire fraud, Dr. Ferrell entered a plea in October to a lesser misdemeanor charge of “mailing an injurious article” which carried a recommended guideline range of up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. In a statement, his family said he pleaded guilty for health reasons. Since the prosecution began, he suffered three strokes and dealt twice with cancer, which is now in remission.

In February, Judge Arcara sentenced Dr. Ferrell to serve 12 months unsupervised probation and to pay a $500 fine. In exchange for his plea, Dr. Ferrell was required to cooperate with the case against his friend.