Diverse perspectives on science and medicine
Ultrarare genetic diseases often appear with a series of symptoms that might seem unconnected. Brooke Harrison Ramirez’s pregnancy had been easy eight years ago, but baby Trinity’s troubles began right away: GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
I’ll admit that I have long admired the beauty of the large milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus, without knowing anything about it. So I was pleased to read of the recent publication of its genome sequence,
I’ve just had cataract surgeries, so I wasn’t thrilled to find a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences comparing the protein glitch behind them to the one behind Alzheimer’s. Fortunately the
Chronological aging is easy to track – birthdays. Biological aging can be obvious too – graying hair, sagging skin, and other inexorable signs of impending decrepitude. But measuring biological aging isn’t as easy as noting
A commentary published today in the journal Cell offers evidence of a stunning imbalance in the population groups that participate in genetic and genomic research, which can underlie some health care inequities. A glance at the
“Ricki, we have another one.” AncestryDNA has spit out yet another half-sibling. I’m a curious hybrid, a geneticist and an “NPE” – “not parent expected” – individual. My few posts about it, such as here and here,
For 2019’s Rare Disease Day, DNA Science honors those who have fragile X syndrome (FXS). It isn’t among the rarest of the rare, yet when health care providers can’t assemble the diagnostic puzzle pieces that parents
On January 22, the World Health Organization declared anti-vaxxers a “Top Threat to Global Health in 2019.” The agency specified “ vaccine hesitancy” as the “reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability.” It’s the first
“Once upon a time, in a cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, different types of ancient peoples were having sex,” I wrote last year in “The Cave Where It Happened: The Daughter of
This is my 300th blog post for DNA Science. I’m so grateful to Public Library of Science for enabling me to comment so freely on all matters of genetics and genomics. This week I look back