Category Archives: Laura Hercher
“Just Say No” Doesn’t Work in Genetics Either
As Bob Resta’s post here on the DNA Exchange ably illustrates, genetic counselors have lots of reasons to take an interest in the Counsyl Universal Genetic Test. Is it being oversold? Probably – here are a couple of reasons why … Continue reading
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Intellectual Climate Change: Can we Survive the Rising Sea of Data in the 21st Century?
Happy New Year! It’s a whole new decade – time for some summing up, and some looking forward. If I had to pick a defining image of the last ten years, it would be a tidal wave – a wave … Continue reading
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It Was Bound To Happen Amway or Another
Remember Edward R. Murrow? No? Me neither. How about Walter Cronkite? I met him once in an elevator in 1980 (if by “met” you mean that I mistook him for the elevator man and ordered the most famous news anchor … Continue reading
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DC Takes on DTC: The “T” Doesn’t Stand For Tomorrow Anymore
On the first day of a two-day workshop on direct-to-consumer genetic testing co-sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Science, Muin Khoury of the CDC raised the following question: if we speak out against the current … Continue reading
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Perils of Language: Why Sonia Sotomayor Won’t Call Herself “Pro-Choice”
As Sonia Sotomayor faces the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, two things are certain: 1. Much of the questioning will be about abortion. 2. You will almost never hear the word abortion. When we talk about this subject – in … Continue reading
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About that Paternity Test… (Part 2)
(Find Part 1 here) Okay, so Ms. Washington’s twins have two daddies. It’s just tabloid-fodder, right?. But reading it (hey, it’s my job!) I saw a kind of grandeur in this tale: a window into our evolutionary past. After all, … Continue reading
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About that paternity test…I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news
PART 1 of 2 When Mia Washington and her boyfriend James Harrison ran a paternity test on her eleven-month-old twins, they got a result that made news at home and abroad. Harrison was the father – of only one twin. … Continue reading
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