23andMe was founded by Anne Wojcick and named for the  23 pairs of chromosomes that comprise the human  DNA.  She created the company because she believes people should have access to their biological  data.  The FDA disagrees and now her company is in a tussle with the governmen

Being a vegetarian is something I don’t talk about much.  The decision was mine and I made it when I was 11, to the chagrin of my mother.   Back then, mealtimes became so cantankerous,  she hauled me off to the doctor for a lecture on nutrition.  Her strategy backfired.  She�

A cry of rebellion has permeated the emails flashing back and forth among the newer residents of the retirement center where I live.  As might be expected, the complaints are about the food.  It’s too salty, the meat’s too stringy, the variety too meager and worst of all, the pr

A former student wrote to say that having married in her junior year of college, she’d left to raise a family,  As she nears retirement, however, she’s decided to return to school to finish her degree.   Naturally, I applauded her decision just as I did when my mother earned he

Feeling out of control in your life?  Join the club.  Not only is there a growing gap between rich and poor around the world, but the gap between society’s leaders and the man in the street is enough to leave anyone queasy.  Take, for example, the gap between the way scientists v

I wrote earlier about research concerning women who avoid highly competitive careers in order to  raise a family.  (Blog 1/29/15)  Others have chosen differently, deciding to remain childless so they can compete in those challenging jobs.  The decision to have a child or not can b

James Cuno, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust writes in “Cultural War,” that when Turkey’s Minister of Culture, Ertugrul Gunay, suggests “each and every antiquity in any part  of the world should eventually go back to its homeland,” the gentleman is in error. (F

Though I am a self-proclaimed feminist, I discovered recently that the majority of my readers are men.  The division between the sexes isn’t large but enough to surprise me.  True, I don’t target a specific audience with my blogs.  I write what interests me and hope others will

A writer, sitting alone with a computer, lives a courageous life.  It begins with an internal struggle to manage thoughts, to edit fearlessly and then expose the work to the public where it will be praised, ridiculed or ignored.  I think Harper Lee at 82 is remarkably brave to come

One day at lunch, recently, a resident at the retirement center where I live was kind enough to compliment me on my play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, which she’d seen the previous night.  Her companion hadn’t attended the performance but was quick to remind me that my small trium