Writing

What we’re building, and what we think about genomes.

Three people holding the same pill, with a blood-level gauge beside each reading too low, right, and too highSeptember 11, 2026Why your antidepressant didn't workYour genes help determine how your body processes antidepressants. Here is what that can mean for your next conversation with your prescriber.Read
Two friends at a dinner table with the same glass of wine, one with a face and neck flushed deep red and one unchangedSeptember 10, 2026Turning red when you drink is not a cosmetic problemAlcohol flush is not cosmetic. It is your body failing to clear a carcinogen, and the antacid that hides the redness does nothing about the risk.ReadOne tube of retinol above two faces, one calm and one red and flakingSeptember 9, 2026Retinol works. Whether you can stand it is genetic.Retinol is the one skincare ingredient with real evidence behind it. Whether it helps you, and whether your skin can stand it, both depend on your genes.ReadTwo identical alarm clocks set for 6 a.m., one beside a person already awake and one beside a person deep asleepSeptember 8, 2026You were never going to be a 5 a.m. personWhether you are a morning person or a night owl is about half inherited. Here is what that means for your alarm, your coffee and your calendar.ReadTwo heads of identical curls, with cutaways showing one scalp making a little oil and one making a lotSeptember 7, 2026Your hair type is genetic. Here is what to do with that.Two people with the same curls can need opposite products. Hair type is only what you can see. Your DNA decides the rest, including whether you will thin.ReadA standard cholesterol panel with four filled-in lines and a fifth line for Lp(a) left blank, beside a plate of vegetablesSeptember 6, 2026The cholesterol number your doctor never checkedLp(a) and familial hypercholesterolemia can change your heart risk. What your DNA can add to a cholesterol test and a conversation with your doctor.ReadA contraception prescription pad beside a blood vessel cross section with a small clot forming, and a DNA card placed between themSeptember 5, 2026The birth control question nobody asks firstFactor V Leiden can raise clot risk with estrogen-based birth control. What your DNA can add to a conversation about contraception with your prescriber.ReadAn anesthesiologist shows a seated patient a card listing anesthesia, muscle relaxant and pain relief beside a DNA helix, while a clipboard on the tray asks about family historySeptember 4, 2026Read this before surgeryThree drugs, three genes, and a pre-op form that asks about your relatives because it cannot ask about you.ReadA crowded trial-and-error skincare shelf beside a simple DNA learning card and three deliberate productsAugust 30, 2026Your skincare routine was made for someone elseYour genes shape acne, pigmentation, skin barrier and aging. Your skincare routine probably ignores all of them.ReadAn enormous genome sequence printout narrowing to one percent as it enters a tiny context windowAugust 27, 2026Your genome doesn’t fit in a context windowA 15× genome is 47GB and context windows are 1M tokens. The bigger problem is that the answer you want isn’t in the file at all.ReadAugust 22, 2026Why we started LifecodeWe learned to read the human genome in 2003. Almost nobody has read their own. That gap is the whole company.Read