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
Race and the Olympics: ‘Yes’, Blacks will sweep the running events, and ‘yes’, genetics is the reason (and Eurasian whites will dominate field events and weight lifting)
The Summer Olympics is rightly billed as an international celebration of global diversity. Athletes are competing and excelling from all ...
Men can’t do Zumba. Is it in their genes?
Zumba saved me during the pandemic. Prior to COVID, I took 3 or 4 of the ATP-burning classes a week ...
California mulls legalization of psilocybin, MDMA, and other psychedelic drugs to treat PTSD
Wade Trammell recalls the time he and his fellow firefighters responded to a highway crash in which a beer truck ...
Viewpoint: No indication that COVID summer surge is fading
Like tens of thousands of Americans baking in the summer heat, President Biden is convalescing at home, waiting for the ...
Why do some animals have bigger brains than others?
Thanks to our large brains, humans and non-human primates are smarter than most mammals. But why do some species develop ...
Smaller than microplastics? Nanoplastics are too small to see yet may seriously impact our environment and health
It’s become common to read that microplastics – little bits of plastic, smaller than a pencil eraser – are turning ...
GLP podcast: Lead in Lunchables? Dismantling Consumer Reports’ latest chemical scare
"Should You Pack Lunchables for Your Kid’s School Lunch?" Consumer Reports asked rhetorically in a recent headline. "CR's tests found ...
Book Review of Paul Offit’s ’Tell Me When It’s Over’: FDA COVID vaccine advisor’s roadmap for a post-pandemic world
COVID-19 has resulted in more than 111 million cases in the United States, which caused about 1.2 million deaths, a ...
Viewpoint: CNN joins list of media organizations snookered by Environmental Defense Fund claims that methylene chloride in decaffeinated coffee poses health hazards
If you've already read this recent story on the CNN news site, perhaps it's not too late to get back the ...
Throw away your lead-soaked tampons? Clickbait headlines exaggerate misrepresented study
Another day, another wildly mischaracterized paper going viral online, eroding science literacy, exacerbating chemophobia, and making our jobs as scientists harder ...
GLP podcast: CBD’s placebo effect; The right-wing raw milk conspiracy? Tattoos boost cancer risk? Unlikely
Does CBD treat pain, or is the marketing hype around this supplement just driven by the placebo effect? It appears ...
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 ...
