Today as the film version of Dan Brown’s novel Inferno opens, starring Tom Hanks fresh off his Saturday Night Live performance, I’m…
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post Inferno Revisited and Genetic IlliteracyRead more
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post How the Pangolin Got Its Scales – A Genetic Just-So StoryRead more
Everyone loves animal oddities. Darwin and Lamarck pondered the advantages of the giraffe’s long legs and neck, while a few decades later…
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post 3 Gene Editing Approaches for Sickle Cell DiseaseRead more
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a perfect candidate for gene editing. It is perhaps the best understood single-gene condition, due to a…
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post Why I Hate the Term “3-Parent Baby’”Read more
A healthy baby boy has been born following mitochondrial manipulation technology (MMT). It was bound to happen, and might offer an alternative…
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post Finding The Famous Painting of the Blue People of KentuckyRead more
Most stories about the blue people of Kentucky include an eerie, compelling drawing of a family, with the stark faces of 5…
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post My Thyroid CancerRead more
My husband and I were intrigued to discover that this week’s New England Journal of Medicine has articles on both of our…
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post Genetic Choreography of the Developing Human EmbryoRead more
Years ago, when I was teaching at a state university, I had the privilege to show real human embryos and fetuses to…
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post Eye Melanoma, Media Hype, and Genomic MedicineRead more
Melanoma of the eye presents a case study in the value of diagnosing by phenotype (symptoms and physical presentation) versus assessing risk…
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post A Mom’s Advice: 10 Tips About Kids in Clinical TrialsRead more
The morning after I posted last week’s “3 Gene Therapy Trials Report Good News,” I heard from my friend Ilyce Randell, whose son…
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post 3 Gene Therapy Trials Report Good NewsRead more
Here’s an update on some of the rare disease families DNA Science has covered as they travel the long and winding road…
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post Summer Musings on the Deaf on Martha’s Vineyard and SevenEvesRead more
One morning last week, my husband and I hiked down to Great Rock Bight, our favorite beach on Martha’s Vineyard, before anyone…
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post Speedy the Tortoise and Altering the Genetic CodeRead more
Last week my sister sent me a great article from Buzzfeed on “a reptile dysfunction”. It’s about stupid people who buy cute little baby…