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
Invasion of alien microorganisms: Humans are a walking petri dish, and our genes have been infiltrated
From childhood, we're taught to think of microorganisms as entities apart from us. But they are are really a major ...
Can biomedical data be boiled down to Amazon.com-style recommendations?
Citizen scientists and research startups have begun to play an important role in creating new data sets for biomedical researchers ...
Chip off the old block? Fathers pass along more of their DNA, disease problems and all
We receive an equal amount of raw DNA from our fathers and mothers, but dad's genetic trust fund comes with ...
Space twins: Scott Kelly’s one-year space mission could yield genetic bounty
On a one-year space mission, astronaut Scott Kelly will be the subject of medical and genetic experiments while his identical ...
You light up my life: High tech gene applied to erectile dysfunction
More than half of men over age 60 have experienced the issue at some time, so if it does happen ...
Buy your telomere testing kit here! Evidence based or psuedo-science?
Companies are soon to release at-home telomere testing for consumers who want to track their cellular age. But the science ...
Life on Mars? Will we find it? Will we colonize the Red Planet?
Discovery of Martian life could provide us unprecedented insight into life's origins, and maybe help us understand how we can ...
Autism: No, it’s not caused by glyphosate or circumcision, but is likely in our genes
Vaccines, glyphosate herbicide, chemtrails and even circumcision have been blamed for the increase in autism cases over the years. But ...
Have a rare disease? Fund your own clinical trial
With research funding cuts on the rise and clinical trial spots running short, people are finding new ways to support ...
DNA testing fetus leads moms to their own cancer diagnoses
Moms undergoing genetic testing for fetal health sometimes learn they have cancer. Advances in fetal DNA testing are paving the ...
SynBio is fast lane to entrepreneurial high tech opportunities
Software development used to be the only low barrier entry point to the high tech-sector, but now is the time ...
Unlocking healing powers of the ‘neuroplastic’ brain: Norman Doidge on why ancient faith healers may have been right
Organizational anthropologist and new GLP contributing writer addresses the 'mysteries of the mind'--how the natural plasticity of the brain can ...
It’s 2015: Do you know where your genetic data are?
Are pharmaceutical or insurance companies looking at your DNA? Even when genomes do not identify individuals to which they belong, ...
New packaging for old idea: Can a sense of purpose improve cardiac health?
Media are quick to promote sketchy studies suggesting that a "sense of purpose" is linked to good health. But feeling ...
Evolution is weird: Killer diseases save lives and make us smarter?
Inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, Tay-Sachs disease and certain breast cancers can kill you or make life very challenging. So why ...
Is dancing success ‘in your genes’?
Dance may have evolved for a variety of reasons. To what degree are athletes hardwired? Can your moves on the ...
Gene therapy dilemma: Would you tweak your child’s genes if it might prolong life but leave her deaf?
New gene therapies can bring collateral consequences--solving one heath problem but creating another. Patients, healthcare providers and insurance companies are ...
We have the technology to make bionic hands
Bionic hands and other limbs are not futuristic hopes. Three people already have bionic hands that have been attached surgically ...
Christopher Nolan, Twitter and the future of memory
Memory becomes something of a luxury when the information is easy to recall. They can find a way to do ...
Antibiotics starting to backfire? Here’s one possible solution
Current antibiotics may be reaching the end of their utility. They are often kill healthy parts of out microbiome along ...
Vitamin and mineral supplements: Miracle potions, silent dangers or both?
The multi-billion dollar vitamin and supplement industries are largely unregulated, in part because of the endorsement of one of the ...
Sex, drugs and … vocabulary? Hedonism not only thing that rewards the brain!
For some people, learning new words activates the same machinery in the brain as sex, drugs and possibly fatty and ...
Why are scientists vilified when they profit from their innovations?
A critic of biotech has pointedly identified the number of companies a researcher has founded to underscore what he claims ...
Lesson from Ebola: Tobacco plant key to developing GMO drugs of the future
While any tobacco is harmful if smoked, there's a kind of tobacco that's being put to positive use—namely, the use ...
You are what you don’t eat: Genetics of anorexia and bulimia
The latest research shows how eating disorders, and anorexia in particular, produce a cascade of physical and mental effects, including ...
Aphrodite’s little helper: Out of the box thinking on female libido
Based on the belief that female sexual dysfunction is more often upstairs than down, the drug flibanserin is being promoted ...
Preventing preterm births: Genetic cause could be in the fetus, not the mother
Given the complexity of pregnancy, taking all evidence-based precautions against preterm birth is a wise course of action. But it ...
