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
Can genomics help developing countries face their growing burden of disease?
For low-income countries, establishing health care genomics is expensive and requires infrastructure and skilled human resources that may be lacking ...
Stem cell showdown: Small business versus the FDA
In Texas, the science of stem cells has collided with a governor’s ambitions, a businessman’s optimism, a doctor’s faith, and ...
Safety of induced stem cells gets a boost
New research refutes a 2011 study which raised concerns over the side-effects of induced pluripotent stem cells as a treatment ...
Are we entering the age of $1 million medicine?
More than a quarter of the new medicines approved in the United States last year were designated for rare or ...
Safety of induced stem cells gets a boost
New research refutes a 2011 study which raised concerns over the side-effects of induced pluripotent stem cells as a treatment ...
Ron Unz on genius, IQ, race and meritocracy
What is the nature of intelligence and genius? Literally thousands of studies definitively show that DNA plays a dominant role; ...
Bacteria or virus? Your genes can reveal what ails you
What's giving you the sniffles? Is it a virus or bacteria? Your genes may offer an easy way to check: ...
Harvard scientists sequence entire genome from single cell
The notion that police can identify a suspect based on the tiniest drop of blood or trace of tissue has ...
Public health genomics: 15 years on
Genomic research was widely expected to transform medicine, ushering in a new era of personalized healthcare and disease prevention, but ...
Nature creates genetically modified organisms — including humans
Despite some concerns over the transfer of DNA from one organism to another to create genetically modified crops and animals, ...
Genetic effects on intelligence and society
Fewer subjects are more controversial than the study of genetics and its relation to just about every facet of human ...
Young and carrying a deadly gene: Do you really want to know?
Most people have a deep intuition that a life lived clear-eyed has inherent value, independent of whether the truth makes ...
Gene technology innovations reshaping future of medicine
The ability to map human DNA cheaply and quickly is yielding a torrent of data about the genetic drivers of ...
Evolution may contradict ‘dumb jock’ notion
According to a popular stereotype, intellectual achievement and athleticism are inversely linked. Now a controversial view of evolution suggests that ...
DNA tests target Native Americans
The Center for Genetics and Society, which takes an ultra-conservative view of genetic screening and genetic technology, takes a one-sided ...
The (epi)genetics of homosexuality
Although scientists have spent the last few decades scouring our genome for a “gay gene,” a new paper suggests it ...
Body builders: Making artificial organs from cells
Ready-made organs have been a science fiction fantasy for decades. New “bioartificial” organs, made from plastic that’s seeded with stem ...
Scientist uncover clues about the evolution of hands
Fossils show that limbs evolved from fins, and a new study reveals how it may have happened. Spanish scientists injected ...
DNA may be future goldmine for marketers
In the not-too-distant future, marketers might turn to an unexpected source for clues to everything from vacation preferences to buying ...
New business plans for direct-to-consumer gene testing industry
Two of the major players in the gene testing industry -- 23andMe and Family Tree DNA -- along with upstart ...
Genetically reprogrammed AIDs virus rescues girl from cancer
In the first of its kind experimental treatment, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia used a disabled form of the virus that ...
Prenatal diagnosis story shows challenge of genetics reporting
The New England Journal of Medicine reported this week that prenatal diagnosis with gene chips is superior to conventional chromosome ...
UK could miss out on the genomics revolution
The UK has a huge opportunity to lead the world in disease discovery, treatments and cures. But support from the ...
Geneticists and physicists collaborate on a DNA dark matter detector
DNA may help out in the hunt for dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up 25 percent of the ...
Genetic screening: Do you really want to know what might eventually kill you?
Americans spend more than $5 billion annually on genetic testing for everything from Alzheimer's to breast cancer to Huntington's disease, ...
Science 2.0 founder Hank Campbell responds to Neo-eugenics
Eugenics is attempting a 21st-century comeback. This has a lot of people scared. But it also has a lot of ...
New eugenics and the question of personal choice
Eugenics is back in the headlines. Our ability to examine and manipulate our genes is more advanced than ever. But ...
