In January, a 26-year old man was killed outside a movie theater while being restrained by off-duty police officers. His crime: not paying for a movie ticket. Why isn't more known about what caused this homicide? Continue Reading
September 24, 2013
A confluence of conflicts of interests in Down syndrome prenatal testing
Yesterday, I shared Andrew Pollack's excellent column headlined "Conflict Potential Seen in Genetic Counselors." The report shared a confluence of conflicts of interests due to another recent development. Continue Reading
September 23, 2013
BREAKING NEWS: You May Be Influenced by Who Pays You
In a previous post, I mentioned that one factor often left out in the discussion of prenatal genetic testing is the cost of the testing itself and how that may influence decisions. Turns out that the advice a patient receives about prenatal testing may be influenced by the cost of giving that advice ... and who is paying for it. Continue Reading
September 20, 2013
Noninvasive prenatal testing should be a secondary screen
The headline isn't my conclusion. Tellingly, it's the result arrived at by a researcher for one of the Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) labs. And, one of the labs that would prefer if the opposite were the case. Continue Reading
September 17, 2013
Why is “being ahead of the curve” a selling point for Verinata’s verifi?
Thursday, Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) laboratory Verinata is hosting a webinar open to the public about its brand of testing, verifi. Verinata's choice in marketing taglines raises serious ethical concerns. Continue Reading
September 16, 2013
Emily Oster’s Expecting Better: Voldemort’s Shadow
In Expecting Better, Economics Professor Emily Oster bucks the conventional wisdom of standard prenatal care. Her book's title, and her support for early prenatal genetic testing, however, casts an ominous, unspoken shadow. Continue Reading
September 10, 2013
“Monstrous” Sonic Hedgehog Reverses Down Syndrome
Finishing up on the news about the research that reversed Down syndrome-genes in genetically-engineered mice with a single injection to the brain. I recalled reading about the agent used in the treatment that had a different, and more concerning, impact. It's another reason why I would think twice before injecting it into a newborn's brain. Continue Reading
September 9, 2013
Sonic the Hedgehog Reverses Down syndrome in Mice
Last week, researchers reported reversing the effects of Down syndrome in the brains of genetically-engineered mice with a single injection. Already, the potential for future treatments based on this technique has been questioned. Continue Reading
September 6, 2013
Reversing Down syndrome & the Golden Rule
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have reversed the effects on the brain in mice engineered with half the genes found in Down syndrome by injecting a compound into the brains of newborn mice. So, in the span of a few months, researchers have "turned off" Down syndrome, and now its effects have been reversed. Continue Reading
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