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
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 ...
Emboldened by the growing vaccine rejectionism movement, opponents of fluoride ramp up their campaigns
Regina Barrett, a 69-year-old retiree who lives in this small North Carolina city southeast of Charlotte, has not been happy ...
It affects 50 million Americans, and for now it’s incurable. Here’s what we know about the ear ringing disorder tinnitus — and its possible links to COVID-19 and vaccines
In March of 2021, the CEO and founder of the Texas Roadhouse steakhouse chain, Kent Taylor, committed suicide. According to ...
GLP podcast: Assessing the Cass report; Fetal genome surgery could treat disease during pregnancy; How ‘body-tracking data’ threatens privacy
The recently released Cass report has intensified an already ferocious debate over gender-affirming care for children. What are the key ...
Fabricated and plagiarized data plague scientific research — and the impacts are far-reaching and long-lasting
Far too many scientific papers are being retracted from prestigious scientific journals because scientists fabricated or falsified data. Although no ...
Personalized genetic cancer treatments key in increasing longevity and quality of life
Personalized, or precision, medicine applied to cancer treatment has its origins in studies of human genetics and the genetic mutations ...
GLP podcast: Golden Rice delayed in the Philippines; Ozempic could reshape our food supply? Exposing myths about cancer risk
A court in the Philippines has blocked the release of vitamin-A fortified Golden Rice in the country. What happens next? ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why the U.S. cannot afford widespread rejection of vaccines
Two senior FDA officials, including Dr. Robert Califf, the agency head, recently published a journal article entitled "Is Vaccination Approaching a Dangerous ...
Andrew Wakefield and the fabricated history of the alleged vaccine-autism link
The claim that vaccines cause autism is entirely false. Extensive research has consistently shown no link between vaccines and autism. In ...
Viewpoint: Should you be concerned when you read that a chemical in your food has been linked to cancer? Here’s an epidemiologist’s checklist to detect over-hyped scares
During the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, epidemiology ha assumed an outsized role in the public consciousness. It was pervasive ...
How IARC and other ‘independent’ global cancer assessment agencies can distort the public’s understanding of the risks of cancer
Cancer is a catch-all for hundreds of unique diseases, which develop when cells in your body no longer listen to ...
Why is it so difficult to find a treatment for Huntington’s Disease?
The Huntington’s disease (HD) community has recently experienced setbacks, but a new research report may reignite hope, from an unexpected ...
GLP Podcast: Anti-vax doctor claims COVID vaccines ‘shed’; Abandon milk and meat for the environment?
Do mRNA COVID vaccines "shed" particles? This anti-vax myth rears its ugly head yet again. Are milk and meat alternatives ...
Superintelligence, superlongevity and superhappiness: How billionaire transhumanists want to converge humanity and artificial intelligence
Many prominent people in the tech industry have talked about the increasing convergence between humans and machines in coming decades ...
