Mendelspod Podcast

Designer babies. The term means many things to many people. To some it means kids only dressed in Gucci.Some say that by doing pre-implantation genetic screening, we are already living in the age of designer babies. Others have been holding out for that time when humans edit their own germline offering the new progeny not only disease repair, but also enhancements. It's also argued there’s a third category in the middle there somewhere, a protection against disease in the future. That’s what He Jiankui attempted. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

A one month old baby is admitted to a hospital with fever. This is cause for serious alarm. The child is put on broad spectrum antibiotics. The infected area is drained and a culture run to try to identify the pathogen. The cultures come back negative, the pathogen not identified. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Sara Radcliffe can be happy--extra happy. She is the CEO of the California Life Sciences Association at a time when the state is breaking records, beating out every other state in category after category. Today Sara discusses a new report the organization has released along with PWC detailing our sector’s explosive growth. Jobs: check. Wages and revenue: check. VC funding: check. NIH funding: check. California leads in all. Big yaaaawn? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

What a week! And a great time to have on our expert contributors, genomicist Nathan Pearson and genetic counselor Laura Hercher, to talk about what is reportedly a first in history: babies born with a gene altered. They'll be called Lulu and Nana.So just how pissed, scared, shocked, and curious are we after three days? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

If Mendelspod had an annual Product of the Year award, we'd certainly be liking for 2018 the one featured today, a digital genetic counseling product for direct-to-consumer genetic testing.Hats are off to Ellen Matloff, a genetic counselor formerly at Yale who saw the DTC boom coming a few years ago, busted out of academia, started My Gene Counsel, and last month launched her first digital product. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

The MPS Society is a rare organization. Not just because it is an umbrella for the rare diseases that have in common lysosomal storage malfunction. But because it is one of the largest rare disease organizations in the world.Terri Klein is the CEO leading the MPS Society. She says the group has over three thousand members on their roster. This brings some strength and resources in an area where low numbers intensifies an uphill battle. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Just hours after Illumina announced their buyout of Pacific Biosciences, Theral sits down with longtime sequencing Omics Omics blogger, Keith Robison, and the Chief Science Officer at sequencing marketplace, AllSeq, Shawn Baker, to discuss the news which has taken the industry by surprise.A special thanks to our sponsor, Sage Science, and the quick decision on this show. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

As an election nears, the question of race and genetics has been front and center. It even prompted ASHG to take the unusual step of making a group wide statement. The three of us agree: scientists should talk more about the race question with non-scientists.Two papers in Tech Review this month show that the world of people buying cures and disease prevention through gene editing isn’t around the corner, it’s here. Now what about those who can’t afford it? One of the papers was written by our very own Laura Hercher. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Time is health. Take certain blood cancers, for instance. When a patient is seen in a doctor’s office, they are then sent to a central lab for testing, and the results can take a few days. With blood cancer patients, these few days can be vital.For years a holy grail in diagnostics has been to get diagnostic tests to the point-of-care based on just a few drops of the patient’s blood that could give immediate results. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

The title says it all here. Herr Professor Schultze directs a major facility that he calls a single cell genomics platform. They have most of the single cell technologies available and partner with labs from all over the world on research.Advances in single cell technologies are changing basic research and also delivering results for translational work in everything from immunology to obesity.“Biology will never be the same again,” says Joachim. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe