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: Coming soon — USDA ‘bioengineered’ labels; Scientific American strays from science; Schools teach anti-GMO falsehoods
The USDA's mandatory bioengineered food labels will begin to appear on many more products next month. What can consumers expect ...
Will we need to get annual COVID booster shots for the rest of our lives?
Some vaccines are one-and-done, like measles. Others are annual events, like the seasonal flu. There's new data as to where ...
Genetics and race: An awkward conversation during volatile times
Discussing inter-group divergence is largely taboo. So do we just ignore the deluge of data? ...
GLP Podcast: Chemical risks doubled in five years? Vaccines from plants; Henrietta Lacks’ stolen cells
A recent meta-analysis has alleged that the health risks linked to chemical exposure have doubled in the last five years ...
More than 5,000 US children recovered from COVID — then the virus roared back at life-threatening levels. Here’s what we know
Like most other kids with covid, Dante and Michael DeMaino seemed to have no serious symptoms. Infected in mid-February, both ...
How soon will we be able to breed allergy-free cats?
Amy Bitterman, who teaches at Rutgers Law School in Newark, gets enormous pleasure from her three mixed-breed rescue cats, Spike, ...
Climate change-induced health problems and deaths are accelerating
Health problems tied to climate change are all getting worse, according to two reports published [October 20]. The annual reports ...
GLP Podcast: At-home dementia test raises concerns; mRNA flu vaccines? Chemical-free pesticides
A new at-home dementia test may help predict your risk of cognitive impairment late in life, though some experts fear ...
Remembering Auschwitz and the 1.1 million people who died there
The Nazi concentration camp system still remains a unicum, both in its extent and its quality. At no other place ...
Viewpoint: Science is now perceived as less about evidence and more about political and ideological tribal identification — and it’s corrupted the left and the right
Over the past 18 months, a number of significant events have occurred that were interpreted through two entirely different worldviews: ...
Omicron: What we know so far — and what lies ahead
Since early in the COVID pandemic, the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa has been monitoring changes in SARS-CoV-2. This ...
COVID ‘Doctors of Death’: Should physicians who peddle coronavirus and vaccine disinformation face consequences for their followers’ injuries or deaths?
Earlier this month, Dr. Rashid Buttar posted on Twitter that covid-19 “was a planned operation” and shared an article alleging that most people ...
GLP Podcast: Monsanto owns farmers? Evolution of pet parenting; Soylent abandons GMO advocacy
Does Monsanto control the seeds Mexico's farmers can grow? No, but anti-GMO groups do. An increasing number of Americans don't ...
GLP Podcast: Science ‘flip-flops’; Pig-to-human organ transplants; Glyphosate lawsuits and tort reform
An expert advisory panel recently revised the decades-old recommendation to take aspirin daily to prevent a first heart attack or ...
Will you get a COVID vaccine? In the US, those who lean Republican are least likely — trumping age, race or education
The KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor and other surveys have consistently shown a strong relationship between partisan identification and how individuals ...
Are rapid-result antigen tests an unappreciated long-range tool to tame COVID?
An overwhelming consensus on any topic is very rare these days. But many Americans, whatever their political leanings, seem to ...
Maybe the universe had no beginning
In the beginning, there was … well, maybe there was no beginning. Perhaps our universe has always existed — and ...
Disentangling horniness from hype: Do women’s libido drugs work?
In the fall of 2016, sex therapist and researcher Leonore Tiefer shuttered the New View Campaign, an organization she had founded ...
GLP Podcast: ‘Fashionable nonsense’ in medicine; Strange history of pregnancy tests; Bayer goes organic
Medicine is bowing to academia's "fashionable nonsense" surrounding a variety of important issues, and the consequences could be serious. Home ...
A lucky segment of the population is genetically immune to the COVID virus. What can we learn from them?
In March 2020, Eleanor A. had been sick for several days. Thinking it might be the new respiratory illness going ...
Henrietta Lacks’ immortal genes are now the subject of a legal battle
Remarkable in life, a stylish Black woman who loved to cook and dance, Henrietta Lacks is even more remarkable in her ...
Viewpoint: Irrational moralizing or appropriate caution — Should we be concerned about AI models that profile humans by ‘race’?
In recent years, a wealth of literature has emerged exploring how AI and machine learning (ML) can improve diagnostic precision ...
GLP Podcast: COVID vaccine skepticism justified? Live long despite your genes; Junk food addiction
Many people simply refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Is their skepticism justifiable, or are they plagued by biases that ...
Molecular farming? Edible plant-based vaccines are cheaper, easier, and quicker to produce than traditional shots
Say goodbye to needles — in the future, we may be able to eat our vaccines. Edible plant-based vaccines could revolutionize how we fight ...
Power Hungry Podcast and Video: GLP’s Jon Entine on the ‘disinformation industry’ blocking innovation in biomedicine and sustainable agriculture
Energy journalist Robert Bryce interviews Genetic Literacy Project executive director Jon Entine on the politics of innovation in biotechnology—how precautionary ...
Viewpoint: Advocacy or orthodoxy? How the neurodiversity movement that has sought to normalize autism is changing, and not always for the best
It is no longer fashionable to talk about autism spectrum disorders among certain quarters of the ASD community without reference ...
When the US was hit by polio and smallpox epidemics, the public embraced vaccines with little resistance. What changed?
The year was 1947 – the last smallpox invasion in America. Ground zero: New York City. The carrier: an ex-pat ...
