Ricki Lewis
Children with motor neuron disorder treated with gene therapy for first time
Eleven-year-old Hannah Sames's curls were the first thing her parents, Lori and Matt, noticed when she was born. "Their other ...
How is genetic risk for breast cancer evaluated?
A letter in the current People magazine referring to Jolie’s recent announcement of the removal of her ovaries, following a double ...
Expert opinions divided on FDA approval of 23andMe’s DTC genetic test
On February 19, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized 23andMe to market a direct-to-consumer (DTC) carrier test for Bloom ...
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ rewritten for horny biology nerds
Ricki Lewis, a genetic counselor and biology textbook author, has her own unique take on the salacious bestselling book and now ...
How questions of racial, sexist bigotry have come to overshadow James Watson’s career
I’m thrilled that Christie’s decided to auction off James Watson’s Nobel prize on a Thursday, DNA Science posting day! I’ve got some ...
Restoring eyesight, human embryonic stem cell trial marks major milestone
Wills Eye Institute ophthalmologist Carl Regillo delicately placed 100,000 cells beneath the retina of 52-year-old Maurie Hill’s left eye. She ...
“Bubble boy” breakthrough cure shows how some viruses can save lives
Beneath all the bad news about viruses this week lies a good virus: the one that underlies gene therapy for ...
Is genetic screening for all a new eugenics?
In recent weeks, there’s been talk of three types of genetic testing transitioning from targeted populations to the general public: ...
Kids with two mutations in HLA gene much more likely to develop celiac disease
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype DR3-DQ2 is associated with dosage-dependent increases in risk for celiac disease autoimmunity and celiac disease ...
Geneticist’s take on cystic fibrosis gene therapy
I’m at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy annual meeting, one of my favorite conferences. The very first ...
Teeth of the very old may provide more easily accessible stem cells than blood
Normally, I wouldn’t post about a report that’s already reverberated through the blogosphere, but the finding of hundreds of mutations ...
Mitohype: Three-parent IVF
If I turned in a 20,337 word article and the editor decided to replace 37 of those words, would I ...
Treating macular degeneration with a patient’s own induced pluripotent stem cells
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, more commonly called reprogrammed cells, start out as skin or other somatic (body) cells, zip ...
Finding the root of genetic disease in Amish communities
The story began at the Philadelphia children’s hospital late one night in spring 1989, when Dr. Morton found glutaric acid, ...
DNA testing can help untangle roots for Africa-Americans
Interest in African origins surged in 1976 with publication of Alex Haley’s historical fiction “Roots: The Saga of an American ...
10 reasons why growing a human brain-in-a-dish is terrific
The growth of a mini-brain is revolutionary in more ways than one. PhD Ricki Lewis describes the ten most exciting ...
Controversy around Havasupai Indian genetic study more myth than fact
The story that researchers were testing a Native American tribe's DNA without consent is too good to ignore. Even if ...
Teen with an ‘infantile’ version of a neurological genetic disease
The following is an excerpt. This week’s post is about a teen who has an “infantile” variety of a neurological ...
New guidelines on testing kids’ DNA
When and how should parents have their children genetically tested? Ricki Lewis gives a Cliff’s Notes version of the new ...
Bacteria or virus? Your genes can reveal what ails you
What's giving you the sniffles? Is it a virus or bacteria? Your genes may offer an easy way to check: ...
Adam Lanza’s DNA could be compared to forensic databases
Days after the Newtown shootings of December 14, 2012, headlines trumpeted the state medical examiner’s request of University of Connecticut geneticists to ...
XYY men and genetic determinism
PLoS Blogs (blog)XYY MenPLoS Blogs (blog)This week's New England Journal of Medicine has four articles about the new precision in ...
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing is here to stay
Geneticist Ricki Lewis says direct-to-consumer genetic testing is here to stay, addresses fears and realities around this new development in ...
Why I don’t want to know my genome sequence
PLoS Blogs (blog)Why I Don't Want to Know My Genome SequencePLoS Blogs (blog)The quest to know ourselves by our DNA ...
