Ricki Lewis
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 ...
Revived pig brains may unleash uncomfortable questions for how we define death
The researchers hypothesized an “under-appreciated capacity” of an oxygen-starved mammalian brain to survive ...
Exploring the havoc that can be unleashed by consumer ancestry tests
On what fraction of a human genome do the consumer DNA companies base these deductions that can shatter lives? ...
NASA twins study highlights key risks for long-term space travel: Cosmic rays and microgravity
When NASA reported preliminary observations about the famous “twin astronaut” study a year ago, the media rushed in, reporting the ...
Genetic uncertainty: When research participants should be told that their test results have changed
“Do you mind if we take one more sample?” asked the endocrinologist who had already stuck six needles into the ...
Taking a bad trip and why marijuana edibles may be a prescription for psychosis
A study looked at high-potency cannabis and psychosis. The findings were astonishing ...
WTF? Did the rise of agriculture—and soft foods—give us the ability to drop F bombs?
How the foods we eat influence the sounds our languages develop ...
Newborns and genome sequencing: Do we sacrifice privacy in the name of health?
If history provides a lesson, routine newborn genomic sequencing won’t come without a fight ...
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 ...
Many people are confused and concerned about human gene editing. They might just need a ‘better understanding’ of how it works
Genome editing has struck a public nerve in a more profound way than most new medical technologies ...
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 ...
I’m a geneticist. A DNA test uncovered a half-sister and sparked painful questions
My own discovery is so overwhelming that I can’t talk about it much, even though my new half-sister has possibly ...
Genetics pioneer James Watson stripped of final honorary titles over race views
It's the latest chapter of the dark side of Dr. Watson ...
Selling yourself: There’s a growing market for your DNA data
Citizen scientists are supplying the data stream to drive precision medicine ...
Viewpoint: Putting CRISPR babies in context—learning from the past instead of panicking in the present
The brouhaha against the gene-edited twins echoes recent history of alternative reproductive technologies ...
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 ...
