Genetic Linkage
Ricki’s Rant: Genome Sequence, NOT Genetic Code
January 11, 2012
Strawberries can use a gene from peanuts to withstand frost because the genetic code is universal.
Humans do not have their own genetic code, and certainly each of us does not have his or her own. The idea of our utter uniqueness might be attractive, but genetics just doesn’t work that way. And it’s a good thing.
The genetic code is the correspondence between a unit of DNA Read More
The genetic code is the correspondence between a unit of DNA Read More
Non-PC Genetics Lingo
January 10, 2012
We are all people of color, except the Invisible Man and Woman.
I struggle to stay politically correct when updating my human genetics textbook. “Hemophiliac” became “person with hemophilia” and “victim” vanished several editions ago. In the current incarnation, “mentally retarded” became “intellectually disabled” after colleagues warned that Read More
Gene Therapy and the 10,000-Hour Rule
January 4, 2012
“Breakthroughs” in biomedicine are rarely that – they typically rest on a decade or more of experiments. Consider gene therapy.
I just unearthed an article from the December 1990 issue of Biology Digest, "Gene Therapy." I wrote it a mere two months after the very first gene therapy experiment, the much-publicized case of 4-year-old Ashi DeSilva, Read More
I just unearthed an article from the December 1990 issue of Biology Digest, "Gene Therapy." I wrote it a mere two months after the very first gene therapy experiment, the much-publicized case of 4-year-old Ashi DeSilva, Read More
Gene Therapy Subverted in New Dystopian Novel, “When She Woke”
December 30, 2011
I don’t usually take too kindly to the evil geneticist stereotype in fiction, but I can’t resist a good dystopian novel. "When She Woke," by Hillary Jordan, is the perfect book Read More
New Roads to Drug Discovery for the New Year
December 22, 2011
In this age of expiring drug patents and stalled pipelines, I was pleasantly surprised to find in my morning batch of news releases four reports of promising, eclectic ways to fight diverse diseases. The Read More
A Living Blood Vessel "Stamp"
December 16, 2011
I still marvel at the interface between a tissue and an organ, even after a quarter century of writing college biology textbooks.
I can easily envision a sheet of epithelium folding itself up into the tiny tube of a capillary. But how do only four basic tissue types connect and contort to fashion such Read More
I can easily envision a sheet of epithelium folding itself up into the tiny tube of a capillary. But how do only four basic tissue types connect and contort to fashion such Read More
Bed Bug Orgies and Evolution
December 6, 2011
Seeking evidence for evolution? Look at bed bugs.
For the past century, the 5-millimeter-long, triangular headed, reddish residents of urban hotel bedrooms have mutated themselves into resistance to any insecticide we can throw at them. Cimex lectularius was nearly vanquished mid-century, when Read More
For the past century, the 5-millimeter-long, triangular headed, reddish residents of urban hotel bedrooms have mutated themselves into resistance to any insecticide we can throw at them. Cimex lectularius was nearly vanquished mid-century, when Read More
Respiratory Replacement Parts -- Thanks to Stem Cells
November 29, 2011
We humans might not be able to regrow a leg, as can a cockroach or salamander, or regenerate a missing half, like a flatworm, but our organs can replenish themselves – thanks to stem cells. Two new reports about opposite ends of the respiratory system may pave the way for replacement breathing parts.
A 36-year-old Read More
A 36-year-old Read More
Gavin's Story: Whole Exome Sequencing Finds Mystery Mutation
November 19, 2011
In a hotel ballroom on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania on a midsummer Saturday in 2010, an unusual roll call was under way at the Family Conference for the
Foundation for Retinal Research. Betsy Brint, co-head of organization, was calling out what sounded like code words – CEP290, Read More
Foundation for Retinal Research. Betsy Brint, co-head of organization, was calling out what sounded like code words – CEP290, Read More