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
Viewpoint: Rising drug prices and shortages now fueled in part by the very reform mechanism promised to curtail them
You’ve heard this many times before: The American health system is failing to deliver in part because of ever-rising drug ...
Organ transplants sometimes lead to significant personality changes. Here’s why
Changes in personality following a heart transplant have been noted pretty much ever since transplants began. In one case, a person ...
FDA’s failures in the infant formula debacle cry out for reform
Today the crisis is over, but if you were a young family in the growing stage two years ago, scarry ...
What are the prospects of developing a COVID vaccine against all strains and future pandemics?
The arrival of the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. In order to be prepared for it, ...
GLP podcast: EPA wrong about ‘forever chemicals’? Heatwaves and drugs don’t mix; Idealistic activism harms public health
The EPA is facing a new crop of lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who say the agency's new guidance on "forever ...
“Extinction” echoes Jurassic Park, with a Pleistocene epoch backdrop
Multiple spoiler alert! In the classic film Jurassic Park (JP), disasters unfurl at a theme park populated with dinosaurs cloned from ...
‘Plastic is a product of brilliant engineering’ — Now let’s make it better for the environment
Materials scientists are cooking up environmentally friendly polymers from natural sources like silk, plant fibers and whole algae ...
Viewpoint: CBD is the ‘latest fad in the ever-expanding universe of pseudo-medicine’
Just what pain patients didn't need: Another useless substitute for real pain medication. This time, it's the wildly overhyped CBD (cannabidiol) ...
A legal defense grounded in genetics: Is DNA testing the magic wand to winning (or losing) a negligence case?
Among the four elements required to establish liability for the tort of negligence is causation. In addition to proving that ...
Brewing longevity: Reassessing the health impact of coffee drinking
Coffee gives us a great morning boost – and it is not just the caffeine! A recent study published in Nature ...
GLP podcast: ‘Fat acceptance’ harms public health; Consumers don’t want to eat insects; 7 tips for sniffing out pseudoscience
Obesity is a victim status not a serious medical condition, according to the fat-acceptance movement. What does the available evidence ...
Another RFK, Jr. misstatement: No, the NIH has not banned research on mass shootings
The National Institutes of Health is the federal government’s main agency for supporting medical research. Is it barred from researching ...
RFK Jr., Andrew Wakefield and other vaccine rejectionists have long claimed shots contain ‘harmful’ mercury. Here’s the science challenging the bogus representations
Vaccines don't contain 'harmful mercury': Misinformation around vaccines and thimerosal has persisted for decades ...
Functional precision medicine: What is it, and can it work to treat cancer?
Despite many efforts to find better, more effective ways to treat cancer, it remains a leading cause of death by ...
Playing music ‘in the zone’: Brain scans can tell us how jazz musicians get into the flow
Flow, or being “in the zone,” is a state of amped-up creativity, enhanced productivity and blissful consciousness that, some psychologists ...
Green politics and sustainability: Rising costs and other trade-offs
“Green” policies designed to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels may not as much of a good thing as you ...
The escalating arms race between viruses and humans: Why a universal coronavirus vaccine is so critical
The arrival of the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. "COVID-19 was the third major and serious coronavirus epidemic ...
90% of genomic studies use DNA only from white people. Here’s one project addressing this gap
When he recently walked into the dental clinic at the Medical University of South Carolina donning a bright-blue pullover with ...
Many of us would give an arm and a leg (and maybe a finger or two) to know what humans can learn from cockroaches
I've admired the cockroach’s ability to regrow lost legs since learning about them while working on my PhD in developmental ...
‘Heightened alert’: Avian flu detected in water supplies, virus found in the meat of one cow, and flu-tainted milk has infected mice and cats
Since the beginning of the year, the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu strain that previously had killed tens of millions ...
Let’s review the (faux) claims of a pesticide-caused insect collapse
If you keep up with the news in the mainstream media, you might think it’s time to ditch the flyswatter ...
Headlong rush in health care to embrace AI opens trap door to legal disputes
When AI contributes to patient injury, who will be held responsible? ...
GLP podcast: Is ChatGPT writing fake studies? Vegan restaurateur serves meat, sparks outrage; We need better IVF regulation
Researchers are increasingly relying on Chat GPT and other AI platforms to write their peer-reviewed studies, raising yet another serious ...
Speed of how you talk — rather than trouble remembering words — is more accurate indicator of brain health as you age
A recent study suggests that the speed of speech, rather than difficulty in finding words, is a more accurate indicator ...
A timeline of artificial intelligence (AI), 1940s to today
A roomsize computer equipped with a new type of circuitry, the Perceptron, was introduced to the world in 1958 in ...
Fatigue in long COVID: The sinister gift that keeps on giving
By now, almost everyone knows people who have had COVID. Although most recover within a few days or weeks, it ...
‘There is ‘a real possibility’ that reptiles, insects, octopuses and mammals have consciousness, scientists declare
Crows, chimps and elephants: these and many other birds and mammals behave in ways that suggest they might be conscious. And the list does ...
