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About DNA Science Blog
Geneticist Ricki Lewis blogs from the cutting edge of genomics, including genetic testing, stem cells, gene therapy and more.
Ricki Lewis is a science writer with a PhD in genetics. The author of several textbooks and thousands of articles in scientific, medical, and consumer publications, Ricki's first narrative nonfiction book, "The Forever Fix: Gene Therapy and the Boy Who Saved It," was published by St. Martin's Press in March 2012. In addition to writing, Ricki provides genetic counseling for parents-to-be at CareNet Medical Group in Schenectady, NY and teaches "Genethics" an online course for master's degree students at the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical Center.
Subscribe to this Blog- Gene Test Predicts Blindness After LASIK July 31, 2014Millions of people have put aside their eyeglasses or contact lenses thanks to a procedure called LASIK. But for carriers of a rare condition called granular corneal dystrophy (GCD), LASIK can damage the cornea, even causing blindness. The Avellino DNA Dual Test for LASIK Safety, from Avellino Laboratory, can identify individuals genetically predisposed to t […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Vaccine Memories: From Polio to Autism July 17, 2014“April 15 – Polio Vaccine Perfected!!!!” So wrote my mother in 1955, on the “Baby’s Health Record” page of my baby book. I unearthed it a few days ago while looking for some old writing clips. Just a day earlier, I’d just reported in Medscape on a study finding that adding injected Salk polio vaccine to the oral Sabin vaccine series can boost immunity in par […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- The Menopause Toolkit and Summer Sci-Fi July 10, 2014One of the worst feelings a woman of a certain age can experience is when someone stupidly asks, “When is your baby due?” and points to the bulge that is not in fact a baby bump, but padding that appears once one’s ovaries have run out of eggs.… Read the restThe post The Menopause Toolkit and Summer Sci-Fi appeared first on DNA Science Blog.Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Wilson Disease – A Genetic Success Story July 3, 2014A woman I never met, Ingrid, has taught thousands of students about Wilson disease, an inborn error of copper metabolism. But she never knew it, and I wish I could tell her. COPPER CONTROL GONE AWRY Wilson disease is an inborn error of copper metabolism in which the body can’t mop up excess free copper.… Read the restThe post Wilson Disease – A Genetic Succe […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Getting to the Bottom of Fecal Transplants June 26, 2014Imagine that you are a bacterium, comfortably living inside a human bowel movement. Suddenly, a chemical attack kills most of your neighbors. As other types of microorganisms arrive and begin to take over the vacated niches, they alter the milieu so that you’re washed out in a sudden stream propelled by a blast of gas.… Read the restThe post Getting to the B […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Catching Up With 3 Rare Disease Families June 19, 2014Four-year-old Eliza O’Neill’s viral videos, the subject of my last two blog posts, continue to dominate the news media with another appearance on The Today Show June 17. Hopefully, her family’s fight to fund gene therapy for her rare disease, Sanfilippo syndrome type A, will focus more attention on the entire rare disease community – 30 million people in t […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Eliza’s Journey: Part 2 June 12, 2014Gene therapy is, finally, about to take off! The feeling was palpable at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy annual meeting a few weeks ago. It’s been nearly a quarter century since the first experiment in humans. The drug development pipeline is beginning to swell with early-stage trials, while a few candidates are closing in on FDA approval for m […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Eliza’s Journey: Part 1 May 29, 2014If ten science writers were asked to write a book about gene therapy, a biotechnology with roots going back to the 1950s, they could tell ten different stories. VARIATIONS ON THE THEME Any account of gene therapy would include the first experiment in humans, on a 4-year-old in 1990.… Read the restThe post Eliza’s Journey: Part 1 appeared first on DNA Science […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- A Checklist for Gene Therapy From the UK Cystic Fibrosis Trial May 22, 2014Washington, D.C. I’m at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy annual meeting, one of my favorite conferences. The very first talk provided a great example of why it is taking gene therapy so long to reach the clinic — a milestone that hasn’t happened yet in the U.S.… Read the restThe post A Checklist for Gene Therapy From the UK Cystic Fibr […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Of Tissue-Engineered Vaginas and Default Options May 15, 2014I’m old enough to remember textbooks and biology classes that defined being female as a “default option” in human development. If the ambiguous sex organ precursors in an embryo “failed” to follow the coveted male route, we became female. If the SRY gene “failed” to turn on, we became she.… Read the restThe post Of Tissue-Engineered Vaginas and Default Optio […]Ricki Lewis, PhD
- Gene Test Predicts Blindness After LASIK July 31, 2014