The test results were crystal clear, and still the doctors didn’t know what to do. A sick baby whose genome was analyzed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia turned out to possess a genetic mutation that indicated …
Pediatric Genetics
The Trouble with My Daughter’s DNA
By the time my first child was two months old, I knew something was wrong. Amanda, who is 14 now, has low muscle tone and didn’t walk until she was almost 2 years old. Her arms have limited ability, and she has inflammatory …
A Look Inside 23andMe’s Genetic Testing Lab
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the process of sequencing genomes by stepping inside a lab where DNA samples for 23andMe customers are processed.
Test Your DNA for Diseases — No Doctor Required
Anne Wojcicki plans to sell whole-genome sequencing directly to consumers, no doctors needed
Will My Son Develop Cancer? The Promise (and Pitfalls) of Sequencing Children’s Genomes
Sophisticated new DNA testing can tell parents whether their babies are at increased risk of cancer, dementia and other diseases that may not strike until adulthood
TIME Explains: Genome Sequencing
Time’s Bonnie Rochman explains how doctors are mapping out all the genes in a person’s body
Will a New Mass. Law Discourage Women from Aborting Fetuses with Down Syndrome?
Massachusetts doctors are now required to give specific, written information about Down syndrome to women who learn that their fetus has the chromosomal disorder.
Scientists Decode an Unborn Baby’s DNA. Is It Cause for Celebration — or Alarm?
Researchers at the University of Washington have sequenced the entire genome of a fetus. The scientific advance could help detect certain diseases in the womb, but some experts worry that the trove of genetic information may …
Why a Mother Would Have Aborted Her Son
In her essay, Emily Rapp freely admits she would have aborted her son, who has Tay-Sachs disease, a disorder she expects will kill him this year. What would Rick Santorum say?
Why Down Syndrome Is on the Decline
New prenatal blood tests can inform pregnant women as early as 10 weeks that their fetus may have Down syndrome.
Down Syndrome: With Breakthroughs in Testing, a Choice Becomes Tougher
Perhaps the most important thing you need to know about Melanie Perkins McLaughlin is that she’s not pro-life or pro-choice or pro anything — other than pro-information.
Do All Women Need Genetic Testing Before Pregnancy?
For two years, a bunch of medical geneticists in Maryland and New Jersey sifted through 1,000 different genetic mutations. They looked for cellular changes that are fatal and ones that are treatable. They argued. Eventually, they …
How Do You Parent When There’s No Tomorrow?
From the moment a pregnancy test turns up positive, you start thinking about the future. There are baby names to mull and nursery themes to choose and plenty of daydreaming about all the unknowns, including what in the world that …