Ricki Lewis

As the number of sequenced human genomes climbs and the time to sequence a genome plummets, I find myself drawn more to the small stories, the incremental revelations that may affect only a few individuals.

A few weeks ago, a study published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science caught my attention. Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix used exome and genome sequencing to probe the origins of a condition I'd never heard of -- and the findings were surprising. Read More 

The young couple looked at me expectantly as I re-read the amnio report and tried to decide what to tell them.

“The ultrasound from 15 weeks looks fine,” I stalled, trying to present the good news first.

“What about the amnio?”

“Well, there is something unusual. It’s the Y chromosome. Part of it appears to be flipped. What we call an inversion. It’s a little like if the exits on a highway turned around,” I explained.

The couple looked at each other, puzzled, then back at me, and he reached for her hand.

“What does that mean?” they both asked. Read More