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—Vaccine rejectionists are trying to scare women that they are being used as ‘guinea pigs’
We thought we'd answer a question that came in response to our series, Fun Size Science, in which Unbiased Science's ...
What happens to large pieces of plastic as it breaks down in the ocean?
Think of ocean plastic and you may picture bottles and bags bobbing on the waves, slowly drifting out to sea ...
Viewpoint: The activist group “Beyond Plastics’ is a scam front but it guided policy at Biden’s EPA
A Firebreak FOIA reveals a cozy relationship between EPA officials and the Beyond Plastics Founder, Judith Enck. This investigation, based ...
Viewpoint: Environmental activists corrupted Biden’s EPA
During the Biden administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) didn’t hide its close relationship with environmental groups and left-wing ...
Ancient Greek and Roman scholars were often more advanced than us in challenging science misinformation
Ancient scientists can be easy to dismiss. Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, often described as the West’s first scientist, believed ...
MAHA’s obsession with raw milk kills New Mexico newborn
A newborn baby has died in New Mexico from a Listeria infection that state health officials say was likely contracted from raw ...
Viewpoint: The D’Adamos family: Profile of wellness grifters
Despite years of scientific consensus debunking the "Blood Type Diet," the D’Adamo family has successfully transformed a biological myth into ...
How war, politics and religion shape wildlife evolution
People often consider evolution to be a process that occurs in nature in the background of human society. But evolution ...
Social media gullibility: Challenging student’s increasing embrace of conspiracy theories
Mike Evans knew something had to change. As the lead instructor for American Government 1101 at Georgia State University in ...
Viewpoint: Do Big Pharma and doctors collect big bucks ‘peddling’ vaccines?
[On January 21, 2026], the Texas Attorney General announced a formal investigation into “unlawful financial incentives” for childhood vaccines, claiming ...
Can power-voracious AI rely on nuclear energy?
Nuclear power has emerged as a strong candidate for companies looking to power data centers while cutting emissions. Unlike wind ...
Personalized health: When it comes to medicine, one size no longer fits all
Vive les différences. A new health study has found that the classic recommendation of eight hours of sleep may not ...
Viewpoint: Vaccine skeptics permeating the Trump administration are remaking U.S. health policy—for the worse
Martin Kulldorff, chair of the Trump administration’s reconstituted CDC vaccine panel, made a shocking — and misleading — statement as ...
14 million child study debunks RFK, Jr. and COVID vaccine rejectionists claim that vaccinations were more dangerous than the infection
Health misinformation remains one of Covid’s most damaging legacies, with online falsehoods fuelling vaccine hesitancy, sowing mistrust and eroding public ...
Gene therapy can restore hearing in some people born with congenital deafness
Up to three in every 1,000 newborns has hearing loss in one or both ears. While cochlear implants offer remarkable hope for ...
Judging junk science: Here are the tools available for the courts to identify and block predatort and activist misinformation
Much has been written advising laypeople to navigate conflicting medical opinions and identify the golden truth amid the pervasive muck ...
Promise & Peril—AI’s Open Questions: Year in Review
Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept. It is already embedded in how we grow food, diagnose disease, manage ...
Viewpoint—Mifepristone birth control pill: Congressional right-wingers and RFK, Jr. HHS who raise doubts about the safety of the treatment ignore reams of science
[On January 14, 2025], the Senate held its first health committee hearing of the year. The topic? Whether mifepristone, the medication commonly ...
Chemophobia & Monetized Activism: Year in Review
Chemophobia — the reflexive fear that “chemicals” are inherently dangerous — stokes public anxiety about health and the environment. It ...
Multiple wives or husbands is a scourge on society? Science suggests hidden advantages of polygamy and polygyny
In July 2025, Uganda’s courts swiftly dismissed a petition challenging the legality of polygamy, citing the protection of religious and ...
Deadly Rise of Wellness Grift: Year in Review
Over the past year, the MAHA-based wellness industry has emerged as a direct threat to public health. Robert F. Kennedy ...
Suicide by chatbot
It is a sad fact of online life that users search for information about suicide. In the earliest days of ...
Vaccines Under Fire: Year in Review
Ideological misinformation is the most destabilizing force to public understanding of science. Nowhere is this more evident — or more ...
Legislating hesitancy: Anti-vaccine lobbying is dismantling state-level vaccine protections
As vaccine exemptions spread and courts are weaponized in the name of “medical freedom,” preventable childhood diseases are roaring back—with ...
Viewpoint: Chemophobia infects the Washington Post: A case study of a reporter snookered by science-denying environmentalists
In the latest Washington Post scare story on the dangers of plastics, with the innocent title: These kitchen items may be ...
There is no clear evidence (yet) that microplastics is driving soaring under-50 cancer rate increase, but they are a serious and growing health threat
Links between environmental exposures and increases in cancer rates take time to emerge. They range from community-wide disasters, like the ...
Politicization of Health & Science: Year in Review
Ideology-driven misinformation is a grave and growing threat to science and society. False claims spread faster than facts; confusion has ...
