Human Genetics Features
The GLP tackles innovations in human genetics and biotechnology. We highlight the work of our own writers, as well as that of contributors from around the Web. The GLP does not take a position on genetics-related issues; any opinions expressed belong to the authors.
Categories include:
- CRISPR and gene editing
- Gene therapy
- Stem cell research
- Genetic diseases
- Synthetic biology
- Epigenetics
- Biodrugs (pharmacogenetics)
- Personal genomics
- Ancestry and evolution
- Ethics and regulations
Podcast: From Jurassic Park to woolly mammoths – is it right to bring back extinct species?
Geneticist Kat Arney takes a look at the science of de-extinction, asking whether it's feasible - or even ethical - ...
CAR-T therapy raises difficult question: ‘What is the price of a human life?’
A new type of therapy for certain blood cancers is ingenious but it raises important questions about its cost, both ...
Can we find the keys to drug abuse, opioid addiction in our genes?
We still have much to learn about genetics, addiction, and even the brain itself ...
Our brains on trial: How new imaging technology could alter the way courts view ‘neurolaw’ defenses when determining guilt
States of mind that the legal system cares about — memory, responsibility and mental maturity — have long been difficult ...
Can genetic screening help identify soldiers less likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder?
Research offers new support for the idea that genetics can play a key role in determining why some people develop ...
Why it’s so challenging to determine ‘how and when’ humans first set foot in the Americas
A deluge of new findings are challenging long-held scientific narratives of how humans came to North and South America ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes are a small price to pay for malaria eradication
Will opponents of gene engineering deny prevention to suffering families? ...
How the pursuit of better education, career opportunities may be creating regional genetic inequalities
Highlighting non-ancestral genetic differences could be an important step in alleviating the harmful results of social stratification ...
Podcast: CRISPR advances, HIV cures and a perfect predator for superbugs
Exploring the latest advances in medical biotechnology including CRISPR-based gene therapies, infection-fighting viruses and a cure for HIV. Plus reflections ...
Ectogenesis: How artificial placentas could aid premature babies, upend entrenched abortion views
Survival rates are likely to be improved for infants born prematurely, and those requiring invasive treatments -- including surgery, cell ...
Podcast: Can we ‘outsmart’ cancer with synthetic biology? Dr. Tim Lu talks customized disease treatments
On this episode of Biotech Facts and Fallacies, Tim Lu talks to Cameron English about Senti's progress toward "outsmarting complex ...
Enduring misconception: Why are we still drawing evolution as a straight line?
Evolution has no final endpoint in mind ...
When blood relatives hook up: Is ‘Genetic Sexual Attraction’ really a thing?
I hope that academic sex researchers will ramp up investigation of genetic sexual attraction ...
Why making healthy babies in space should be quite the adventure
Biologists sent brain organoids to the International Space Station to see how microgravity will affect developing babies ...
Can DNA predict a person’s facial features? New forensic tool gets us closer, by deducing hair, eye and skin color
Could DNA testing predict faces to go with found body parts? ...
If we aren’t careful, we could miss the chance to learn cancer-fighting secrets from threatened whales and elephants
The loss of vulnerable mammals means scientists could miss out on useful quirks in their genetics ...
Viewpoint: Netflix’s new horror movie ‘Eli’ is a fright. But why did they have to ‘tarnish gene therapy’?
Attempts to treat genetic disease shouldn’t be the stuff of horror films ...
For synthetic biology to reach its potential, building new chromosomes from scratch must become commonplace—and we may be getting close
Many of the needed technological breakthroughs can be achieved in the next several years ...
‘Drink like there is tomorrow’: Inside the quest to prevent hangovers with a GMO probiotic
Engineered probiotics and other microbes provide amazing opportunities ...
How NASA’s struggle with radiation-resistant microbe could help us understand infections
Bacteria have infiltrated sterile rooms NASA used to build space equipment. Studying what happens to them in outer space could ...
‘Hacking the Code of Life’: How gene editing will lead to disease cures and nutritionally enhanced food
In “Hacking the Code of Life,” Nessa Carey explores new technology offering the power to alter the genome with increasing ...
Ancestry tests underreport African genetic diversity, limiting benefits of precision medicine for blacks. Here’s how we can change that.
The newly-sequenced African genomes will help fill in the outlines of the origin and diversification of humanity ...
Here’s what you should know about disease-fighting GMO mosquitoes
Media references to Jurassic Park and 'mutant hybrid insects' are based on a thorough misunderstanding of this effective technology ...
A peek into the sex lives of Neanderthals—they may have mated with ‘close kin’
A group of 13 Neanderthal remains detail a story of inbreeding, cannibalism ...
15 things to know about fecal transplants – here’s the straight poop
Fecal transplants carry a certain ick factor for many people. But there is a legitimate medical use for them -- ...
Can we slow the progression of Alzheimer’s by seeding our guts with ‘better’ bacteria?
Male — but not female — mice had reduced amyloid beta plaques in the brain after antibiotic treatment ...
How a ‘dubious’ 50-year-old study fuels marijuana use by pregnant women—against the advice of health experts
Social media users extol — and health experts decry — a study from Jamaica suggesting cannabis use poses no harm ...
Viewpoint: Don’t expect synthetic biology to reverse climate change. But it could help, if we use it correctly.
There are several ways in which synthetic biology may have a positive contribution to our carbon footprint ...
