Human Spotlight
The erosion of genetic privacy
For years now, a steady stream of research has eroded scientists’ faith that DNA can be held anonymously. Not so ...
The perils of neurocentrism
The issue with fMRI and other neuroscience techniques is "neurocentrism" -- "the view that human experience and behavior can be ...
Synthetic blood may introduce a host of complications
The pending arrival of synthetic blood is likely to come with some serious socioeconomic and ethical issues ...
Does success in college involve having the right genes?
Recent attempts to link genetics to academic achievement are weak at best, and the media has been overstating the case ...
Gene patent ruling: Cause for celebration and criticism
The US Supreme Court rule against "natural" gene patents was hailed as a victory for patients everywhere. But closer inspection ...
Police DNA databases grow in wake of Supreme Court ruling
A growing number of local law enforcement agencies across the country have moved into what had previously been the domain ...
Mother Jones: Is synthetic biology something to fear?
The funded synthetic biology Glowing Plant kickstarter campaign raises questions and fears for some ...
Supreme court limits gene patents in mixed ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court has restricted the ability of companies to patent human genetic sequences ...
Artwork highlights legal debate over ‘abandoned’ DNA
A provocative art project creates "facial reconstruction" sculptures based on DNA found on trash. Is it legal? ...
No, this is not how the human face might look in 100,000 years
One artist’s vision of what humanity will look like in 100,000 years includes huge eyes and foreheads. Apparently, we’re all ...
Nabbing the bad guys with advanced technology: Who needs fingerprints when you have DNA?
The Supreme Court recently ruled that police can take DNA samples from people who have been arrested for serious crimes, ...
Scientists identify mutations associated with intelligence for first time
In the first study of its kind that has generated a reproducible result, researchers report on ten variations in DNA ...
Geneticists push for global data-sharing
69 institutions in 13 countries are working to enable the free flow of information in genomic medicine ...
Clinical geneticists oppose some direct-to-consumer genetic testing
A majority of European clinical geneticists oppose direct-to-consumer genetic tests for serious or untreatable health issues ...
Supreme Court rules to uphold post-arrest DNA sampling
On Monday, June 3, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 decision to uphold a Maryland state law ...
Centenarian genetics: The search for longevity-enhancing biotech
People who live past age 100 develop diseases at much later ages than the rest of us. Scientists are working ...
The genetic fountain of youth?
Nir Barzilai at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has spent more than twenty years trying to pinpoint the genes ...
The complexity of cancer genetics
To develop cancer-specific drugs, we need to distinguish cancer cells from healthy cells -- but it’s not so easy ...
Synthetic blood: First human trials to take place in Scotland
Researchers in Scotland have received the go-ahead to set up a facility to manufacture synthetic blood from stem cells, bringing ...
Discovery of liquid mammoth blood fuels cloning hopes
A remarkably intact 10,000-year-old female mammoth buried in Siberian ice raises hopes of cloning the extinct beast ...
The biology of identity
Are your talents, traits, and insecurities so deeply embedded in your genes that they’re basically inevitable? ...
Marketing to the big data inside us
Start-up "Miinome" plans to create a club that stores the DNA data of genome-sequenced people ...
Hacking biotechnology: Do-it-yourself wonders and worries
What happens when you mix the do-it-yourself ethos of hacker culture with the ethically and emotionally fraught landscape of biotechnology? ...
Angelina Jolie fallout: Should counseling be required with DNA screenings?
Angelina Jolie's very public decision to have a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer has kicked off a debate about ...
Errors cast doubt on landmark stem cell cloning paper
Sloppy mistakes cast doubt on claim of first-ever human stem cell cloning success ...
The ethical conundrum of “expert” bioethicists
Even as bioethicists everywhere pontificate in the wake of the recent first successfully cloned human embryo, Nathan Emmerich argues that ...
Personal genomics and accidental paternity tests
What happens when your 23andMe results reveal that your brother is your uncle and your father isn't your father? ...
