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
GLP podcast: Greenpeace USA might go broke; RFK, Jr. fibs about measles vaccine; Marty Makary spells trouble for FDA?
Greenpeace USA just lost a $667 million defamation lawsuit over pipeline protests that might sink the infamous NGO for good ...
Fox News’ health and nutrition experts: A chiropractor, a ’natural medicine doctor’ and ‘holistic nutritionists
It’s common sense that good dietary habits have a wide variety of benefits, and the more you deviate from good ...
Defining healthy: Three uniquely effective ways to measure your health — and what it has to do with food
In the U.S., we spend almost $5 trillion on healthcare, 17.6% of our GDP — that’s $14,750 per person. And ...
Viewpoint: PFAS disinformation—How extremist environmentalists have demonized an entire class of safe-as-used properly chemicals
PFAS in cosmetics is the latest frontier for advocacy groups who have pressured regulatory agencies to ignore the scientific evidence ...
Greenpeace USA faces possible dissolution after losing $667 million defamation suit for orchestrating ‘unlawful’ demonstrations against a North Dakota pipeline project
Energy Transfer filed the colossal lawsuit in 2019, accusing Greenpeace of providing resources, including supplies, intel and training, to encourage ...
GLP podcast: DEI-addicted medical schools are jeopardizing health care—Dr. Nikki Johnson
Doctors are leaving medical school ill-equipped to do their jobs and patients–especially the poorest among us–are receiving inferior care that ...
Viewpoint: The FDA under Trump 2.0, Marty Makary and RFK, Jr.: Uncertainty threatens
What would the Food and Drug Administration look like under Martin "Marty" Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon, President Trump's soon-to-be ...
45% of Americans will develop osteoporosis of the knee in their lifetime. How did evolution botch this?
The groans of pain as we get up from the sofa or the sound of crunching cartilage when taking the ...
Are we alone in the universe? While many scientists believe we are unique, the magic elixirs that created human life are common
Humanity may not be extraordinary but rather the natural evolutionary outcome for our planet and likely others, according to a ...
GLP podcast: COVID contrarian at NIH—How will Stanford’s controversial economist Jay Bhattacharya impact US science innovation?
The pandemic continues to roil our political discourse as Stanford health economist Jay Bhattacharya prepares to take over as director ...
No, rhino horns are not an aphrodisiac: Dangerous delusions of ‘traditional Chinese medicine’
I recently attended a showing of Oscar-nominated short films. Most were riveting, but none more so than 'The Last Ranger,' ...
Viewpoint: Unregulated pseudo-science supplement industry poised to rake in record profits as RFK, Jr.’s health disinformation propaganda mainstreams
Last fall, before being named the senior U.S. health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Trump administration would liberate ...
What will humans be like generations from now in a world transformed by artificial intelligence (AI)
What will humans be like generations from now in a world transformed by artificial intelligence (AI)? Plenty of thinkers have ...
Is intelligent life a ‘once in a universe’ likelihood? Recalibrating the possibility of extraterrestrial life
A popular model of evolution concludes that it was incredibly unlikely for humanity to evolve on Earth, and that extraterrestrial ...
Viewpoint: ‘Only in California could coffee both cause and prevent cancer’
Welcome to California, the Wild West - geographically and otherwise. Especially when it comes to science ...
Viewpoint: Anatomy of junk science—Dissecting yet another attempt by activist scientists to ‘link’ vaccines to autism
A newly published study is being widely circulated, purportedly showing a link between vaccines and autism. A closer look at ...
Meet Darryl: What would 24 hours with a health-integrated personal AI assistant look like?
Darryl, my Personal Assistant 2.0 bot, woke me up at the end of a light sleep cycle with some gentle ...
Why the 3-D revolution has stalled
The so-called “disruptive” technology that is 3D printing, now in its thirties, [seems] to be coming back into fashion. Yet, ...
‘Your spatula will kill you’: How a junk academic journal and a credulous media touched off yet another chemophobia scare
For months, the media indulged in a frenzy of fearmongering, plastering headlines about toxic flame retardants supposedly hiding in your ...
Race and evolution: How our political beliefs about human differences endanger health care
W[/drocap]hen it comes to race and ethnicity, we’ve long been juggling sociocultural constructs like they’re scientific gospel. A new study ...
Top 10 anti-biotech organizations: Meet the most notorious groups pushing anti-science propaganda
What can explain the recent meteoric rise in anti-science beliefs? Under the guise of advocating for consumer transparency or protecting ...
Fat… and yet fit? Here’s the skinny
As Fox Sports reported in 2016, the average weight of a starting NFL linesman was 315 pounds, aggregating to over 25 ...
GLP podcast: Will RFK, Jr. restore or destroy public trust in science and medicine?
According to 2024 Gallup polls and Pew Research Surveys, just 22% of U.S. adults trust the federal government, only one-third ...
Viewpoint: New Health and Human Services Secretary RFK, Jr. — America’s health, food and farming nightmare begins
Without question, the United States of America leads the world in health and agricultural innovation. We have created a system ...
Does the US uniquely require more vaccinations than other countries as RFK Jr. and other shot critics claim?
Issue: Childhood vaccination rates fell worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, reductions in childhood vaccination were not universal, which may ...
Are vaccines ‘pushed on us’ because they are mega-money makers for doctors?
"Ask your pediatrician how much their bonuses are when they gaslight you into thinking your child needs vaccines." Posts like ...
GLP podcast: Africa needs ‘regenerative’ farming, activists say; Time to ban menthol cigarettes? Trump wrong to leave World Health Organization?
Some public health experts claim that banning menthol cigarettes will save hundreds of thousands of lives. Are they right, or ...
