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
Golden Rice, set for debut, will be great source of Vitamin A, study shows
A new study found that Golden Rice is just as good, and even better than supplements and other foods at ...
Synthetic biology: Mutating the meaning of life? Some critics think ‘yes’
Critics of synthetic biology have long said that the practice should be known as “playing God” and argue that the ...
Newton’s Law: If an apple hits you on the head it can rewire your genetic circuitry, creating a savant
Getting smacked in the head is no picnic, as most football players, hockey players, and boxers would attest. Debilitating side ...
Behind the hype on stem cells
There's a lot of hype about the potential for stem cells to revolutionise medicine, but the race to innovation shouldn't ...
Controversy heats up over whether or not modern humans may have mated with Neanderthals
Over the years, there have been many studies regarding the possibility of whether or not humans and Neanderthals really interbred- ...
The DNA Olympics- Jamaicans win sprinting ‘genetic lottery’- and why we should all care
Jon Entine takes stock of the DNA London Olympics–where, as usual, African-descended athletes swept the running events while whites and ...
New prenatal testing can detect more genetic problems
A new method of prenatal testing that can detect more genetic problems in a fetus than ever before could be ...
Human family tree gets another “mysterious” branch: Neanderthal-type species once roamed Africa, DNA shows
The human family tree just got another — mysterious — branch, an African “sister species” to the heavy-browed Neanderthals that ...
The future is now: Gene therapy to take flight in Europe
After many years of crushed expectations, gene therapy could be close to a victory: a regulatory approval ...
Vast gene study raises hope for colon cancer drugs
More than 200 researchers investigating colon cancer tumors have found genetic vulnerabilities that could lead to powerful new treatments. The ...
FDA balances costs, patient safety in the biologics and personalized medicine revolution
Sometimes what you see is not all you get. Whether or not you support healthcare reform, the implementation of any ...
Is Elvis in your children’s DNA future? Furor develops over possible use of ‘celebrity’ genes
A British artist’s plan to create a mouse with Elvis Presley’s DNA as part of a larger project to exploit ...
Is IQ in the genes? The PC hypocrisy of intelligence studies.
In his new book, the brilliant psychologist James Flynn, of Otago University in New Zealand, has revealed that, for the ...
Foods of the future: What you’ll be eating in 2035
In a new book, The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches from the Future of Food, author Josh Schonwald examines how foodies, ...
Are Ethiopians descended from the Queen of Sheba?
Razib Khan of Discover Magazine’s Gene Expression blog, challenges the facile reporting in a slew of articles based on an ...
New GM apple that won’t turn brown stirs concerns from NGOs, conventional growers
A genetically engineered apple that does not turn brown when sliced or bruised is in development. But it has much ...
Genetic gamble: A new cancer treatment’s tantalizing promise brings heartbreaking ups and downs
Mrs. McDaniel, the 69-year-old wife of a retired corporate executive, had gambled on the ultimate in personalized medicine, an approach ...
The genetic legacy of “Jewish Catholics”
At the time of the expulsion of 1492, Sephardi Jewry comprised the vast majority of world Jewry, totaling about 400,000 ...
The black is a better athlete?
Michael Johnson, the 4-time Olympic Gold Medal winning sprinter, is standing by his assertion that black athletes have a "speed ...
Genetic breakthrough could spell end to supermarket tomatoes that taste like mush
A new discovery from partners at UC Davis and Cornell University reveals that the same genes that account for the ...
Can GMOs save us from climate change?
Malnutrition and starvation are problems that occur all over the world, primarily in developing countries. In coming years, as climate ...
First farmers: 7,000 year old caveman bones found
Spanish researchers have discovered the complete mitochondrial DNA of an individual that lived 7000 years ago. This discovery is the ...
How did species evolve? Giants of genetic theory go mano a mano
A disagreement between the twin giants of genetic theory, Harvard University's Richard Dawkins and EO Wilson of Oxford University, is ...
GM crops: Bring on the beneficial bugs
Chinese scientists have developed a new type of GM cotton engineered to make its own chemical protection against cotton pests ...
Personal Genomics: DNA helps Michelle Obama discover white ancestral roots, provides window into history of slavery
One of the remarkable innovations brought on by the DNA revolution is the ability to trace our personal and family ...
A brief history of stem cell research
The stories of research involving human embryonic stem cells and the policy governing that work are intertwined and stretch back ...
Scientist knocks view of genes as “blueprints” for development
The report that sequencing of a fetal genome demonstrates that we have a crude "blueprint" for adulthood has spawned the ...
