05 Apr
Latest, Science, Zoominars

Why You Should Know Your DNA: Genetics, Testing and Disease Prevention with Paul Root Wolpe, Ali Rogin and Emily Goldberg

You can’t change your DNA but understanding your genetic makeup might just save your life. Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University and journalist Ali Rogin, author of Beat Breast Cancer Like a Boss: 30 Powerful Stories join JScreen genetic counselor Emily Goldberg for a conversation about the importance of knowing your risk for developing genetic diseases. Learn how to become a ‘previvor’ no matter your ethnic background or gender.

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27 Mar
2019 March-April, Ask the Rabbis, Jewish World

Ask The Rabbis | Should We Edit Our Children’s Genes?

INDEPENDENT Maybe not edit. Maybe just proofread and add a comma or a few comments in the margin. If circumstances require, perhaps add an exclamation mark, or in a dire situation, all caps and in bold. Run-on sentences can muddle our intent, although you might get away with a semicolon. Editing was built into our creation. Even Leah edited her male fetus and turned him into a female (Talmud Bavli, Berachot 60a). And although God made men with foreskins, we were instructed to edit them. The Word of God itself has been through more editorial changes since the beginning of time than the number of base pairs in a human genome. “For the Torah is like wheat from which to derive flour; flax from which to derive cloth” (Midrash Tana D'Bei Eliyahu Zuta, Ch. 2). But...

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28 Sep
2017 September/October

Hadassah Doctor Brings New Hope to Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Twenty five years ago, Dr. Batsheva Kerem and Dr. Eitan Kerem made a significant contribution to the scientific world’s understanding of genetic mutations and cystic fibrosis. Together—with their medical-research teams—they mapped the genetic mutation profile of cystic fibrosis among different Jewish ethnic groups in Israel. Since then, life expectancy for individuals with cystic fibrosis has shifted dramatically, thanks in part to their medical and genetic research and ongoing commitment to fighting the disease. These Israeli doctors, long married, represent two of the world’s major cystic fibrosis research centers: the Hadassah Medical Organization and Hebrew University. Today, the Kerems’ research serves as a map for the genetic counseling many Jewish couples undergo before having children.

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14 Sep
2017 September/October, Jewish World

The BRCA2 Male Minority

Matt Diamond is a 39-year-old financial planner whose sister happens to be an amateur genealogist. After creating a family tree for a school homework assignment, she was hooked and spent the next 25 years digging into her family’s Ashkenazi roots. In 2014, she sent a saliva sample to a genetic testing company, hoping to find more family members through their DNA database. She was shocked when the test identified her as a carrier for the BRCA2 mutation, a fact later confirmed by her medical doctor.

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