
Guests:
Laura Hercher, Genetic Counselor on the faculty at Sarah Lawrence College
Nathan Pearson, Senior Director of Scientific Engagement and Public Outreach at the New York Genome Center
Chapters:
0:00 Ongoing confusion about difference between linked and real long reads
5:25 Genomic Jenga
10:25 Anti-abortion advocates with genetic testing in their sights
13:50 Why has Theranos got so much press?
18:50 “Creator” touches a nerve
Which company offers the gold standard of sequencing? Nathan starts us out with a metaphor to compare linked reads with real long reads. Then it’s on to this month’s “knockout paper” that moves us yet further from a deterministic view of genetics. Or is this genomic Jenga part of the “proper design of the Creator”? Laura links a new Indiana law banning abortion due to chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome to a larger effort by the anti-abortion lobby to go after all genetic testing. Theranos plays the Donald Trump of our industry.
It’s the end of March and time to look back with Nathan Pearson of the New York Genome Center and Laura Hercher of Sarah Laurence College.