Emmanuel Gokpolu, who lives in Liberia, calls me Mom, although he has a wonderful real mother. In Africa, family isn’t only about…
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post Eman’s Emails from Liberia: Through SeptemberRead more
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post Another Reason Freezing Employees’ Eggs is a Terrible IdeaRead more
Facebook and Apple’s decision to offer female employees a $20,000 benefit to freeze their eggs indicates a stunning disregard for the complexities…
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post SCID-X1 Gene Therapy, Take 2Read more
Beneath all the bad news about viruses this week lies a good virus: the one that underlies gene therapy for X-linked severe…
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post DNA and Dating: Buyer BewareRead more
Last week’s post dealt with three very serious types of DNA tests. But not all DNA tests detect health-threatening conditions. A few years ago “Born…
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post Genetic Testing For All: Is It Eugenics?Read more
In recent weeks, there’s been talk of three types of genetic testing transitioning from targeted populations to the general public: carrier screens…
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post Black Pee Disease Offers New View of Arthritic JointsRead more
“A new cause of osteoarthritis identified by research on a rare disease,” ran the headline of a news release a few weeks ago. I was…
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post Medical Success Stories: From Cystic Fibrosis to DiabetesRead more
A skinny little boy, with mocha skin and curly black hair, lived in the apartment building next door when I was growing…
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post Update: How Ebola KillsRead more
UPDATE OCT. 7: Emmanuel (my “son”) and his family, in Liberia, are still all healthy! The post below is from mid-August, when…
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post ALS Target: MicrogliaRead more
Glia, perhaps the most underappreciated of cell types, are finally getting some attention. A new report in Science Translational Medicine from Kevin Eggan’s…
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genedx Gene Test Predicts Blindness After LASIKRead more
Millions of people have put aside their eyeglasses or contact lenses thanks to a procedure called LASIK. But for carriers of a…
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post Vaccine Memories: From Polio to AutismRead more
“April 15 – Polio Vaccine Perfected!!!!” So wrote my mother in 1955, on the “Baby’s Health Record” page of my baby book…
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post The Menopause Toolkit and Summer Sci-FiRead more
One of the worst feelings a woman of a certain age can experience is when someone stupidly asks, “When is your baby…