Last week, a not-yet-accepted-for-publication paper challenged the long-held view that bacterial cells outnumber human cells in a body 10 to 1. As…
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post Why Count Stools in the Human Microbiome?Read more
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post Hannah’s 2016: From Curling Toes to Gene TherapyRead more
Eleven-year-old Hannah Sames can still curl her toes, just barely. But time is running out. If Hannah can move her toes for…
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post Rerun: Dan Brown’s “Inferno”: Good Plot, Bad ScienceRead more
I’m thrilled that DNA Science made the top 15 PLOS blog posts of 2015, but a little surprised that the entry was…
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post Precision Medicine Initiative – Ricki’s Pick for Breakthrough of the YearRead more
‘Tis the season for Science magazine to name their Breakthrough of the Year, a designation that typically irks me because it implies…
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post Genes That Protect Against Dementia (Maybe)Read more
“Survival of the fittest” is one of the most misunderstood terms in biology. Evoking images of physical prowess, it actually refers to…
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post A Conversation with CRISPR-Cas9 Inventors Charpentier and DoudnaRead more
At the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in October, CRISPR-Cas9 inventors Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier accepted the Gruber Genetics Prize, then…
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post Turkey Genetics 101Read more
I love watching the turkeys on Martha’s Vineyard. They travel in small family groups of two parents with chicks and adolescents, coalescing…
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post Will Layla Save Gene Editing?Read more
I had planned to blast last Thursday’s news of the use of gene-editing to save a British baby from aggressive leukemia. “Two…
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post Jono Lancaster Fights Treacher Collins Syndrome With AttitudeRead more
When Jono Lancaster was born 30 years ago, his parents took one look at his face, and abandoned him. Today Jono, who has…
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post Sequencing the Genomes of Dead PeopleRead more
Last Wednesday, at “Career Night” during the American Society of Human Genetics annual conference in Baltimore, I was stationed one table over…
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post Understudy Gene Offers Hope for Spinal Muscular AtrophyRead more
I began writing about genetics decades ago, and the best thing about getting older is witnessing the development of targeted treatments for…
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post Precision Medicine: Much More Than Just GeneticsRead more
When President Obama uttered the words “Precision Medicine” in the state-of-the-union address, I scoffed at a politician’s finally noticing a field that’s…