[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/12/Hemophilia-Gene-Therapy.mp3[/podcast] Over more than two decades of science writing, I’ve seen a lot of my past writings rendered obsolete by scientific progress. Case in point: the release last week of a research report on exciting new progress in gene therapy for hemophiliacs. Back in 2001, I wrote a book on hemophilia for the Enslow Publishers …
Tag: genetics
Cloning a mammoth
[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/01/Cloning-the-Mammoth.mp3[/podcast] One of the more striking exhibits at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is the woolly mammoth that looms over you, emerging from a forest, when you round one of the corners in the Earth Sciences Gallery. Twelve thousand years ago, you might have encountered exactly that scene while strolling through Saskatchewan: these days, the closest …
A treatment for Ebola?
[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2010/06/A-Treatment-for-Ebola.mp3[/podcast] A few years ago I wrote several books for Enslow Publishers in New Jersey for a series called Diseases and People. I covered meningitis, arthritis, hemophilia…and Ebola. My most recent book for Enslow, Disease-Hunting Scientist, also talks about Ebola, and some of the scientists who travel to the sites of outbreaks to help with …
A half-billion years of irritation
Just a couple of years ago, I wrote a column about the advent of tearless onions that included some background on why onions make us cry in the first place. Ordinarily I wouldn’t revisit a topic quite so soon, but you know how it is with science: things change fast, and just this week there …
Tearless onions
Download the audio version.Get my science column weekly as a podcast. I’m a sensitive kinda guy. I fact, I’m so sensitive I sometimes tear up just during the process of making dinner. It’s not that I’m overcome with emotion at the blessing of having at my disposal the wherewithal to stir-fry. (I’m not that sensitive.) …
One step closer to the return of the woolly mammoth?
Maybe. That’s the focus of today’s post at Futurismic; and thanks to Janet at The Walrus Said for the tip!
Genetic modification of large animals just got easier
Efforts to genetically modify large animals have been hindered by the fact that the two methods currently used to effect it, somatic cell nuclear transfer or pronuclear injection, are costly, inefficient, difficult, and carry a risk of producing abnormal offspring. Now researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have successfully produced genetically …
Neophobia
Download the audio version.Get my column as a podcast. *** When I was a kid, I was a picky eater. I knew what I liked, I knew what I didn’t like, and I knew what I was sure I wouldn’t like if I ever tried it, which I had no intention of doing, because why …
A most appropriate presentation
This is cool: Nobel laureate James Watson – co-discoverer of the DNA double helix and father of the Human Genome Project – today, in a presentation at Baylor College of Medicine, became the first human to receive the data that encompass his personal genome sequence.It’s astonishing how far we’ve come in genetics in such a …
Mini-DNA replicator
This is pretty amazing: A pocket-sized device that runs on two AA batteries and copies DNA as accurately as expensive lab equipment has been developed by researchers in the US. The device has no moving parts and costs just $10 to make. It runs polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), to generate billions of identical copies of …
A blogger reviews Genetics Demystified
JinxIdoru (a blog) has reviewed Genetics Demystified, and rather favorably, too: I have to say that if all of the Demystified books are as good as this one, then I am sold. It was very clear and explained complicated concepts in an understandable form. The quizzes were a great way to check my grasp of …
Made-to-order DNA…
…is about to get a lot easier to create: Installing one of those prefab, snap-together wood-flooring kits is a lot easier than shaping and sanding rough planks. Adapting a similar construction strategy, a biotech startup called Codon Devices, based in Cambridge, MA, aims to streamline genetic engineering. It makes made-to-order DNA strands, freeing scientists from …
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Episode 165: Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes – A Fifth of the Story
A chat with author, podcaster, and blogger Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes about her new spy thriller, A Fifth of the Story Websitedrkatherinehayes.com Facebook@authordrkatherinehayes Instagram@authordrkatherine X@khutch0767 Dr. Katherine Huthcinson-Hayes’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for A Fifth of the StoryAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book A fascinating thriller of espionage that takes you into the secretive world of the CIA… -
Episode 164: Kristen Ciccarelli – Heartless Hunter
A chat with New York Times bestselling YA author Kristen Cicarelli about Heartless Hunter, The Crimson Moth Book 1, a “dangerously romantic Scarlet Pimpernel-inspired fantasy.” Websitekristenciccarelli.com Facebook@AuthorKristenCiccarelli Instagram@kristenciccarelli Pinterest@kciccarelli Kristen Ciccarelli’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Heartless HunterAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Enemies-to-lovers doesn’t get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling… -
Episode 163: Sebastien de Castell – Play of Shadows
A chat with award-winning fantasy author Sebastien de Castell about Play of Shadows, Book 1 of Court of Shadows, set in the world of his popular Greatcoats series. Websitedecastell.com X@decastell Facebook@decastell Sebastien de Castell’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Play of ShadowsAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first… -
Episode 162: Lyn McGinnis – Amarel Mountain
A chat with author Lyn McGinnis about Anu Awakes, an epic fantasy series, and the most recent release in that series, Book 2, Amarel Mountain. Websiteanuawakesseries.com Bluesky@anuawakes Goodreads Instagram@anuawakes Lyn McGinnis’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for Amarel MountainAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Descendants of the Tolku of the Primary Epoch, the Koru, Yakku and Yelda, now… -
Episode 161: Jared N. Michaud – Brightstar
A chat with new author Jared N. Michaud about his upcoming YA science fiction novel Brightstar, first book in the Energematric6 space adventure series. Websiteenergematrice6.com Facebook@Energematrice6 X@Energematrice6 Instagram@jarednmichaud Jared N. Michaud’s Amazon Page Amazon Links for BrightstarAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book Brightstar is the beginning of an epic space-adventure series that introduces readers to Nate, a… -
Episode 160: Breakfield & Burkey – Enigma Tracer
A chat with the writing team of Charles Breakfield and Rox Burkey about their long-running techno-thriller series, Enigma, and Enigma Tracer, first book in their new Enigma Heirs trilogy. Websiteenigmabookseries.com Facebook@TheEnigmaSeries X@EnigmaSeries@1rburkey Instagram@enigmabookseries YouTube Amazon Links for Engima TracerAmazon.comAmazon.ca About the Book The clock is ticking … can Gracie uncover the truth? Phillip Pliant is… -
Episode 159: Steve Truitt – The Mindset Chronicles
A chat with author and former television host Steve Truitt about his new science fiction novel series, The Mindset Chronicles. Websitestevetruitt.com Facebook@AuthorSteveTruitt Amazon Links for The DeletionAmazon.comAmazon.ca Steve Truitt’s Amazon Page About the Book In a world where artificial intelligence has become an integral part of daily life, the sudden death of all AI sends… -
Episode 158: Danièle Cybulskie – Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World
A chat with noted medievalist Danièle Cybulskie about her new book, Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World. Websitedanielecybulskie.com X/Twitter@5minmedievalist Facebook@5MinMedievalist Instagram@5minmedievalist YouTube@5MinMedievalist Amazon Links for Chivalry and CourtesyAmazon.caAmazon.com Danièle Cybulskie’s Amazon Page About the Book Medieval people are often portrayed as having poor hygiene and table manners—licking their knives or throwing chicken… -
Episode 157: Marie Brennan – The Market of 100 Fortunes (Legend of the Five Rings Book 3)
A chat with Hugo-nominated author Marie Brennan about her Legend of the Five Rings trilogy, which just wrapped up with The Market of 100 Fortunes. Websiteswantower.com Bluesky Patreon Amazon Links for The Market of 100 FortunesAmazon.caAmazon.com Marie Brennan’s Amazon Page About the Book Enthralling fantasy mystery from the world of Legend of the Five Rings as two… -
Episode 156: Douglas Smith – The Lost Expedition (The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3)
A chat with Canadian author Douglas Smith about his young adult fantasy trilogy The Dream Rider Saga, which has just culminated in Book 3, The Lost Expedition. Websitesmithwriter.com Facebook@WritingtheFantastic X/Twitter@smithwritr Instagram@douglassmithwriter Amazon Links for The Lost ExpeditionAmazon.caAmazon.com Douglas Smith’s Amazon Page About the Book The Thrilling Conclusion to the Multi-Award-Winning Trilogy Will is the Dream…
