Carrier screening has been around for decades, starting with assessment for conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease. Nowadays, there is the ability to test for hundreds of conditions, some of which can be difficult to predict the inheritance or resulting features of the condition. In genetics, there is a constant battle to weigh information seeking with possible uncertainty and unexpected results.

Carrier screening and more studies are revealing for some carriers, they may have symptoms of a condition. In a recent article, Reproductive Carrier Screening Results With Maternal Health Implications During Pregnancy, there was focus on symptoms that might arise in pregnancy in order to ensure patients are monitored appropriately. This blog post will discuss the findings of the article in more detail.

Family history plays a significant role in shaping our understanding of potential health concerns. If you have a family history of cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic condition that most often affects the lungs and digestive system, you might be wondering about your chance of being a carrier. Carrier screening is an option that can provide valuable insights into your genetic makeup and help you make informed decisions about family planning. In this blog post, we'll explore what cystic fibrosis is, the importance of carrier screening, and how it can impact your family's future.

We inherit a lot from our parents. We inherit their money, hopefully, their mannerisms, love, and in some families, their genes. In this blog post, we are going to discuss the ways genetic conditions can be passed on or inherited in a family by going over autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, and x-linked inheritance.

When you cut yourself with a knife while preparing peppers, you feel the sting and visually see the separation of your skin in that area. Five days later after you’ve wrapped that part of your skin with a bandaid and cleaned it out, that separation is no longer. The area isn’t still bloody or pink and doesn’t hurt quite like it did that day. Your body healed itself and grew more cells to cover that area. It wasn’t magic. It was your body’s natural reaction to an injury. It was orchestrated by proteins that know how to fix the problem. And your genes are how the proteins came into existence knowing what to do. Our genes are the instruction manuals to our bodies. There are pages upon pages of instructions that tell the body how to heal from a cut or bruise, how to grow hair and a heart, and how to digest brownies. We have about 20,000 genes that are the foundation to who we are as humans. Other animals have more or less genes that tell those bodies how to grow and develop. In this post, we will go into more detail as to what genes are and their importance to our health.

This is a common question to come up when someone finds out they are a carrier of a certain condition. It is natural to think back to the family history to figure out where this may have come from. However, most of the conditions we end up being carriers of are rare and/or are unlikely to have impacted any of our relatives because of autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. It is important to know that being a carrier is normal. We are all carriers for at least one genetic condition like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease. Usually, being a carrier means you do not have any symptoms of the condition, but your children could, if your partner is also a carrier. Since carriers are usually healthy individuals, most people do not know they are a carrier until they do certain blood tests that check for carrier status or they have a child with that condition.

If you’re in the market for some sperm, you are not alone! There are a lot of people shopping alongside with you. The reason someone may need donor sperm can vary. Sometimes, the intended father’s sperm quality or quantity has been determined to decrease the chance for a successful conception. Other times, donor sperm is needed because the intended parent(s) is female. Often, when selecting sperm, certain characteristics are sought out like height, race, hair color, eye color, how much the donor resembles your own husband, etc. Another characteristic that can be included on that list is the clinic or organization your donor submitted his sperm sample to.