Human 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
Literal gene-ius: The search for a genetic basis of intelligence
Barely out of his teens, Chinese prodigy Zhao Bowen is leading a multimillion-dollar research effort to solve a genetic mystery: ...
Single genetic glitch may explain most allergies and asthma
Researchers think there may be a common genetic driver behind almost all allergic diseases ...
Fate of Florida oranges rests on whether activists succeed in debasing GM debate
In a journalistic tour de force, New York Times reporter Amy Harmon offers a thoughtful deconstruction of how politics and ...
Genetic exceptionalism and privacy
Despite privacy fears, genetic information may be less damaging than other forms of personal medical data ...
Would Rosalind Franklin have won a Nobel for her work on viruses?
Best known for her part in discovering the structure of DNA, Franklin also discovered the structure of viruses ...
James Watson weighs in against Myriad in gene patent debate
Last month, co-discoverer of DNA, James Watson, took a break making controversial remarks to file an amicus brief in the ...
DNA superstorage: Apocalypse-proofing the world’s data
In terms of information density, DNA outclasses anything we’ve been able to invent. Two scientists think all the world's information ...
Genetic descrimination claims on the rise
New lawsuits mark stepped up enforcement of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. How are employers adapting? ...
Scientist create stem cells without genetic manipulation
Scientists demonstrate a new way to reprogram adult tissue to become cells like embryonic stem cells, without using genes ...
X chromosome may control male fertility
Researchers have found that the X (i.e."female") chromosome contains scores of genes that define male-only traits ...
Crops that can genetically modify their pests
Imagine a future in which genetically engineered plants are able to genetically engineer -- and thereby defeat -- their own ...
How much does genetics dictate your mood and mindset?
Optimism and pessimism are not purely genetic: we have some control over our perception of the world ...
Shutting down the extra chromosome in Down’s syndrome
Researchers have shut down the third, extra, Down's-syndrome-causing copy of the 21st chromosome in human cells ...
Curing the disease known as aging
Is aging a process that we simply have to accept as a fact of life or is it something we ...
Gene therapy for baby born without immune system
Doctors re-engineered a girl's DNA using a ‘reprogrammed virus’ to splice in the vital gene she is missing into her ...
Spatial skills may be an early sign of creativity
A gift for spatial reasoning—the kind that may inspire a child to dismantle a clock—may be a greater predictor of ...
Should we control sex to protect humanity’s future?
The more we know about the nature of reproduction, the more we can control it -- and our own future ...
Is gene therapy coming of age?
Researchers are promising results from gene therapy trials for the treatment of two different rare diseases ...
Myriad Genetics sues competitors for patent infringement
Myriad genetics is suing two competitors for infringing on patents not covered by the Supreme Court's ruling on human gene ...
UK joins project to make first synthetic eukaryote
UK researchers join a project to create the first synthetic eukaryote: designer yeast ...
Ancient bones’ DNA draws a direct line to people living today
A study of mitochondrial DNA reveals the long history of the Native American community in northern British Columbia, Canada ...
Monsanto wants to help honeybees fight mites with biotech
A new weapon in that fight to save honeybees could be RNA molecules that kill a troublesome parasite by disrupting ...
New genome sequencing technique produces its first genetically-screened IVF baby
The first IVF baby to screened using an inexpensive and fast genome sequencing procedure has been born in the US ...
Scientists watch DNA development in a growing brain
Researchers have used chemical tracking and genome sequencing to create a time-lapse map of human brains as they develop ...
The smallest bacterial genome, in context
Researchers find that a bacteria's tiny genome size is made possible only because its host's genetic code does some of ...
Gene sleuths find how some naturally resist cholera
Researchers found that people of the Ganges Delta have adapted genetically to withstand cholera and arsenic ...
Pointing to breakthrough, human stem cells used to create tiny new livers
Organ transplant tissues created from stem cells have long been a medical hope. An international research team using human liver ...
