Category Archives: Robert Resta
“Family History In Times of Siege (1945)” by Robert Resta
A full schedule, impatient with patients, committing the mistake of heading straight to matters of fact But they must tell their stories first Facts only matter in the setting of the heart. § An incendiary March night, standing in a meadow, looking up … Continue reading
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p + q = Solved, Being the True Story of How the Chromosome Got Its Name
A few weeks ago I discussed different stories we have come to tell about the origins of the convention of using “p” and “q” to identify the chromosomal short and long arms, respectively (L’histoire de p et q: Urban Legends … Continue reading
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L’histoire de p et q: Urban Myths of Cytogenetics
Karyotypes are sooooo 20th century. Time was when a ripe crop of G-banded chromosomes promised a fruitful harvest of genetic secrets. But nowadays a Giemsa-stained karyotype seems like a quaint low resolution black and white TV set – those cute … Continue reading
Filed under Robert Resta
A Lover’s Lament: What If We Stopped Seeing Each Other?
Your head says forget it But your heart’s still smokin’ -Joni Mitchell, “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio” I love my profession. My heart belongs to my wife, but that’s a different sort of love.* I love my job … Continue reading
Filed under Robert Resta
Kellogg’s Complaint
Improper kinds of food in the stomach and intestines, will, in this excessively irritable state of the system, cause nocturnal emissions……Farinaecous foods, properly prepared, is incomparably the best aliment for such a sufferer.…. – from A Lecture to Young Men … Continue reading
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Considering The Future of Genetic Counseling, Act II
When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened. John M. Richardson, Jr. Those who predict the future are doomed to … Continue reading
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Demographics and The Future of Genetic Counseling
Those who do not study and prepare for the future are doomed to live it rather than to shape it. Keeping an eye on what might be coming down the road in the next 30 years could help genetic counselors … Continue reading
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A Question of Race
Biological ancestry is an important part of genetic counseling. Sometimes we call it race or ethnicity, or ask “What countries are your ancestors from?” I am not quite sure what the difference is between race and ethnicity, though in the … Continue reading
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Let Me Into Your Grief
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost Grief, a constant in genetic counseling, is a normal reaction to death, the loss of hopes and dreams, suffering, shattered self-images, disrupted … Continue reading
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A DNA Day Surprise
There has been much sturm und drang lately about the ramifications of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing. Depending upon your point of view, either it’s the end of the world as we know it, or it’s a door opening into the … Continue reading
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