Ricki Lewis
Can DNA predict a person’s facial features? New forensic tool gets us closer, by deducing hair, eye and skin color
Could DNA testing predict faces to go with found body parts? ...
Hemophilia B—the blood disease that plagued Europe’s royal families—might be treatable using gene editing
Researchers are hoping to use gene editing to create more effective and less expensive treatment options--compared to gene therapy--for people ...
Pharmacogenetics and depression: Genetic screening could eliminate trial-and-error approach to medications
Antidepressants may soon be added to the growing list of medications genetically matched to patients most likely to respond — ...
DNA for the greater good: Should the police have access to consumer DNA databases?
There is an urgent need for international guidelines and policies ...
How this promising gene therapy for a rare neuromuscular disease was fueled by passionate parents and a dog
The gene therapy will be too late for Joshua Frase. But it will be his legacy ...
‘The broken promise of anonymity’? Bioethicist’s call to guard identity of sperm and egg donors is misguided
Dr. Pennings’ opinion fails to capture the complexity of donation ...
Key to fecal transplants could revolve around ‘recipe and preparation’
Fecal transplants are slowly becoming a more effective, and more palatable option for various gut disorders, such as IBS or ...
Why a proposed DNA data protection plan is a great idea that may be too late to help
Legal experts, biologists and policy analysists are calling for DNA data regulation, but the cat is already out of the ...
Finding echoes of cancer journey in Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
The 'choose your own path' nature of Bandersnatch echoes a journey with breast cancer ...
Genetics pioneer James Watson stripped of final honorary titles over race views
It's the latest chapter of the dark side of Dr. Watson ...
Hiding in plain sight: Exploring Parkinson’s link to the appendix
Lurking in the layers of the human appendix lie deposits of alpha-synuclein, a protein prone to gumminess, like sticky rice ...
Genes and giraffes: What do those spots tell us?
Giraffes' spotty exterior provides more than camouflage ...
Not-so-mad scientists and why they’re making human body parts
Halloween brings a cornucopia of candy body parts, so it’s a good time to review recent advances in organoid technology ...
Why we may need a ‘Noah’s Ark’ of microbes to protect our health in the future
Preserving human microbiomes today, especially the more diverse ones from traditional peoples in developing nations, may provide treatments for diseases ...
‘Voluntary euthanasia’: Are we ready to harvest organs while donors are still alive?
In the dystopian society of Nobel prizewinner Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, cloned people are raised to provide organs for ...
Gene silencing through RNA interference scores first drug approval
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first drug based on RNA interference (RNAi). Unlike media darlings gene therapy ...
Were there two migration routes into North America? Genetics meets archaeology
Popular accounts of the peopling of North America paint a picture of a lone long-ago trek across the Bering Land ...
DNA testing to reunite separated families—what we learned from the grandmothers of Argentina
The idea to use DNA testing to reunite families separated at US borders due to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” ...
Alternate facts: Why are we still telling women that abortion causes breast cancer?
On June 26th, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of crisis pregnancy centers that were challenging a California law, the Reproductive ...
Battling constipation with synthetic biology and DNA manipulation
Ateam of researchers has cleverly combined synthetic biology, recombinant DNA technology and microbiome manipulation to fashion a novel targeted treatment ...
Can the Egyptian fruit bat’s unusual genome show us how to fight deadly Marburg virus?
The Egyptian fruit bat's immune system enables it to peacefully co-exist with Marburg virus, which can cause a swiftly deadly ...
Making sense of crowdfunding for unapproved stem cell treatments
When FDA approval for a technology or treatment lags behind demand, crowdfunding steps in. Desperate patients or their families launch ...
Genetic privacy and the case of the Golden State Killer—diving into the science
Consumer DNA testing companies are rushing to reassure customers about the security of their genetic information following news that DNA ...
Protein therapy in the womb overrides genetic glitch hampering teeth development, ability to sweat
Imagine a fetus gulping in amniotic fluid and drinking a drug that restores the ability to form teeth, sweat glands ...
Tale of two families: Exome sequencing and faster diagnosis of rare disorders
Sailing from New York City to London a century ago took days; today the trip takes hours by air. Similarly, ...
Viewpoint: Rampage movie offers twisted take on CRISPR gene editing
Is a film based on a video game with fleeting mentions of a biotech buzzword compelling sci-fi? No. But I ...
Examining the curious genes behind ‘magic mushrooms’
"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small,” sang Grace Slick in Jefferson Airplane’s classic White Rabbit, conjuring ...