Ricki Lewis

2 weeks ago | dnascience.plos.org | Ricki Lewis

The images of “de-extincted” fuzzy white dog-wolf pups festooning the media this week accompany reports that are so hyped that the technical feat is hidden in the hoopla. Claimed the company, Colossal Biosciences:“On October 1, 2024, for the first time in human history, Colossal successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction. After a 10,000+ year absence, our team is proud to return the dire wolf to its rightful place in the ecosystem.

3 weeks ago | dnascience.plos.org | Ricki Lewis

Hitler’s “final solution” attempted to strip the German population of Jewish people and others deemed not white. At the same time, the Lebensborn program sought to purify the Aryan gene pool and counter a plunging birthrate through “homes” where “hereditarily healthy” Aryan women conceived, carried, and bore the “racially valuable” children of SS men.

4 weeks ago | dnascience.plos.org | Ricki Lewis

When I heard that 23andMe had filed for bankruptcy, I wasn’t alarmed, at first. I’d taken a test from the company, years after I did one for AncestryDNA at a genetics meeting – I hadn’t even remembered taking that first test. I knew 23andMe would someday be in trouble, despite the yearly blitz of ads at holiday time, because of the ephemeral value of their DNA tests – there wasn’t a viable way to keep customers on the hook. Privacy hadn’t bothered me.

1 month ago | dnascience.plos.org | Ricki Lewis

Measles virus has long occupied a top spot on a list of most dangerous pathogens, for in addition to spreading easily, it can temporarily cancel immunity against other infectious diseases. A powerful vaccine has vanquished measles since 1963, offering close-to-lifetime immunity. But the disease is returning, thanks to vaccine hesitancy and apparent lack of knowledge of basic biology. I was too young to remember having measles.

1 month ago | dnascience.plos.org | Ricki Lewis

Consider two 70-year-olds. Cliff seems slightly confused and forgetful, and has difficulty following conversations and instructions. Roxanne is always alert and leads conversations, bringing up new topics and easily adding details to other’s ideas. They are the same age, yet far apart in cognition. Researchers call the difference between age in years and age in behavior and physical condition the brain age gap, or BAG.