In her just-released memoir “Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love,” Dani Shapiro tells of discovering that she was donor-conceived. The subtext of…
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post A New Memoir about Donor Conception Confronts Genetic DeterminismRead more
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post New Recipe for Fecal Transplants to Treat Ulcerative Colitis: Multiple Donors and Ditch the OxygenRead more
The secret to a fecal transplant that treats ulcerative colitis might be a change in the recipe and preparation: pool stool from…
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post Museum Genomes Explain the Plight of the Grauer’s GorillaRead more
When a population rapidly plummets, the chance sampling of genetic drift and inevitable inbreeding can accelerate the pace of extinction. A new…
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post How Bandersnatch Mirrors a Cancer JourneyRead more
A few minutes into watching the compelling new Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch, in which the viewer chooses the story path, I realized that…
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post Organoids: Beyond the Breakthrough of the YearRead more
Science magazine’s Breakthrough of the Year for 2018 is “Development cell by cell: Scientists are tracking embryo development in stunning detail.” The announcement rightly…
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post A Proposed DNA Data Protection Act? The Cat’s Out of the BagRead more
A team of biologists, policy analysts, and legal experts from the University of Queensland call for a new Genetic Data Protection Act…
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post Can Certain Medical Treatments “Seed” Alzheimer’s Disease?Read more
A re-opened case from the history of medicine suggests that “seeds” of a protein that aggregates in the brains of people with…
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post Genome of Galapagos Gentle Giant Lonesome George Leaves Clues to LongevityRead more
I have a special fondness for tortoises. Many years ago I bought a baby Sulcata tortoise at a reptile show. Unbeknownst to me…
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post A Common Ancestry Metric Is Based On a Century-Old Discovery by a 19-Year-Old: CentiMorgans ExplainedRead more
I’ve been immersed in genetic genealogy, following up on a recent contact from a relative I didn’t know existed. While trying to…
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post The Coffee-Genes Story Brews Discontent on ThanksgivingRead more
A few weeks ago a report claiming a love for coffee is “in the genes” fleetingly flashed across screens. I thought I’d…
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post If A Genetics Textbook Author Was Treated Like a Political Insta-AuthorRead more
Every week, it seems, yet another politician, or someone in a politician’s orbit, releases a book and lights up the media. Against…
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post The Genomic Scars of Anti-SemitismRead more
Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass.” On November 9 and 10, 1938, Storm Troopers, Hitler Youth…