The SomaLogic Blog

Winter is coming. I just know it. I do not need the changing color of tree leaves to tell me this fact. I know it because my appetite is insatiable right now. I feel like one of those brown bears that stands in the river and lets salmon continuously leap into their open mouth (though I would prefer to receive lemon-curd filled donuts).

Born under atypical circumstances, a perfect storm wields unimaginable havoc. So, does a rare disease. What exactly constitutes a rare disease? In the U.S., the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 stipulated that “rarity” meant the disease affected fewer than 1 in 200,000 people, which applies to about 7,000 diseases (National Institutes of Health, 2017).

What the …?? …. Standing back, I wonder what the artist envisioned while painting this piece. Did they just enjoy seeing the colors mix and build elaborate textures? Are they trying to communicate a new revelation about the human condition?

Your genome has been hacked! …literally. Recently, a direct-to-consumer genetic test company was hacked and information about millions of people was compromised (Thielking, 2018). In this day and age, it is not surprising when a company gets hacked. What is surprising is one of the ways a genetics company can be hacked.

The warrior king of Sparta, King Leonidas, and his small legion found themselves arrayed against an army of hundreds of thousands. Though they fought bravely until the very end, the odds and ultimately the Fates did not favor the poor king and his legion in that gory battle of Thermopylae.

As most of you know, we are all mutants. Each of us carries variations in our gene sequence that, collectively, mark us uniquely. What does it mean to have a mutation?

“Happy birthday to you…” Do these words instill incapacitating fear or unbridled joy? Children welcome them with wide open arms and with great jubilation. As people age, the enthusiasm wanes to the point of dread. Why?

So many headlines announce the latest trends and decree what is no longer in style. It is reassuring to know that someone will let me know that my favorite things, such as a beloved garment or the hairstyle that I finally mastered, are no longer stylish.

Circadian clock…biological clock…alarm clock… Face it. We are subjects to the clock whether mechanical or the one existing within us. This could not be truer than when it comes to how well we respond to medication.