As the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to mount, so do entries at clinicaltrials.gov for potential treatments, reaching into the existing…
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post Can Existing Drugs Treat COVID-19? From Viagra to Thalidomide to Cough SyrupRead more
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post Viruses for the Good: Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell DiseaseRead more
While the world worries about novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, other viruses continue to be used for the good – as vectors that ferry…
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post Rare Disease in TV Series: Stranger Things, House, Call the MidwifeRead more
In honor of Rare Disease Day 2020 (February 29), I took a look at the portrayal of people with rare diseases on a…
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post COVID-19 Vaccine Will Close in on the SpikesRead more
As epidemiologists try to stay ahead of the spread of new coronavirus COVID-19, vaccine developers, like Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson, are focusing…
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post A Fruit Fly Love Story: The Making of a Mutant 2020Read more
For Valentine’s Day, I offer a fly’s eye view of my PhD research on the mutation Antennapedia, which replaces fruit flies’ antennae…
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post The Giant Squid Genome Holds SurprisesRead more
I’ve been thinking about invertebrates often lately, and so was delighted to learn that the genome of the giant squid has been…
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post New View of the Brink of Cancer May Validate Preventive MastectomyRead more
Women who have prophylactic mastectomies to stay ahead of a BRCA2 mutation may have made a wise choice, according to findings of…
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post The Wuhan Coronavirus Inspires a Look Back at the Discovery of VirusesRead more
I’m astonished at the speed with which geneticists and epidemiologists are zeroing in on the Wuhan coronavirus. Nomenclature is still up in…
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post How Breast Cancer Reunited Six High School FriendsRead more
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I am republishing this essay written on the eve of the pandemic. It’s an intriguing…
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post Will New Knowledge of Gender Identity Genomics Counter Discrimination?Read more
If legislation being developed by State Rep. Ginny Ehrhart, (R-Powder Springs, Georgia) goes forward, a physician who provides surgery or hormones to…
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post FDA Approvals in 2019 Reflect Eclectic Ways to Treat Genetic DiseaseRead more
It was a good year for new treatments for genetic diseases! Of the 44 FDA approvals of new drugs, 8 were for 6…
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post 5,700-Year-Old Lola, Her Genome Sequenced from Gum, Joins Other Named ForebearsRead more
About 5,700 years ago in southern Denmark, a woman enjoyed a meal of hazelnuts and duck, then chewed gum made from the…