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: Poison ivy vaccine; Exercise doesn’t always cause weight loss; Essential oil videos debunked
Poison Ivy plagues outdoor enthusiasts everywhere. Is a vaccine on the horizon? Exercise is great for your health, but a ...
Part 2: How anti-biotechnology activists came to embrace COVID vaccine hesitancy
Even as many progressives champion the various COVID vaccines, many Democrats in the US and leftists in other countries remain ...
Viewpoint: A psychological deep dive into the minds of COVID vaccine ‘refuseniks’
COVID has hospitalized 6.2 million Americans, killed at least 640,000 (the true count may be 800,000), and caused permanent cardiovascular, neurological, and other health ...
GLP Podcast: Smoking prevents COVID? CRISPR and nuclear weapons; Bayer wins first glyphosate case
Smokers appear to face a reduced risk of catching COVID-19. Does their deadly habit offer them some sort of protection? ...
GLP podcast: Scrutinizing anti-GMO ‘rock star’ Vandana Shiva’s recent ‘Earth Democracy’ lecture
Last week, high-profile anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva lectured (via zoom) at the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC). Amplifying the ...
Smokers are less likely to get COVID: French researchers explore whether nicotine might prevent transmission
As we are hopefully exiting the third coronavirus pandemic of the last 17 years, it is time to consider that ...
Ivermectin obsession illustrates why pandemics are a great opportunity for fraudsters to manipulate data. What can be done?
The COVID pandemic is a great opportunity for fraudsters. With the desperation for new treatments, a tsunami of research crashes ...
Viewpoint: Here’s a conservative case for the limited implementation of COVID vaccine passports
According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, at least 171 millon people in the United States ...
Viewpoint: Will “cancel culture” claim Darwin?
Given the scientific and political luminaries who have fallen under the axe, it’s not beyond possibility that Charles Darwin himself ...
Why are more kids being infected by — and some dying from — the Delta COVID variant?
Eighteen months into the covid-19 pandemic, with the delta variant fueling a massive resurgence of disease, many hospitals are hitting ...
Gene drive revolution: How genetically tweaked mosquitoes could tip the balance in the battle to contain malaria
It has been said that malaria breeds poverty, and poverty breeds malaria. This is the reality in many parts of ...
GLP Podcast: CRISPR-edited tomatoes debut in Japan; Regulating bogus supplements; Underwater farming is here
CRISPR-edited, hypertension-fighting tomatoes are on sale in Japan. Dishonestly marketed supplements continue to evade FDA regulation. Why doesn't the agency ...
Virus-fighting drugs are difficult to come by. Will COVID help crack the code?
Physician Claudette Poole doesn’t take long to rattle off a list of antiviral medications she prescribes to her patients. “There ...
‘Rebooting the brain’: Our fight to bring people back from the dead
We may be on the verge of redefining 'brain death' following the partial revival of a man in France ...
GLP Podcast: Don’t fight science denial like this; CO2-sucking GE trees; Organic industry hates hydroponics
A new book outlines a method for changing the minds of "science deniers"—and it's terrible, according to a particularly harsh ...
The dog nose knows: Bio-detection dogs can save your life. Here’s how
Stories of life-saving dogs who use their power of smell to rescue humans are legendary. One of the most famous ...
Video: Beyond the science ideology trap — GLP’s Jon Entine challenges media and activist misinformation on GMO crops, nuclear energy, insect declines and climate change
From rampant COVID vaccine rejectionism to nuclear energy skepticism to activist attacks on GMOs and CRISPR crops, anti-science ideology is ...
A daily pill to treat COVID could be just months away, scientists say
Within a day of testing positive for covid-19 in June, Miranda Kelly was sick enough to be scared. At 44, ...
GLP Podcast: Abortion muddies COVID vaccine debate; Coffee is heart healthy again; Genetics of homosexuality
If women have a right to abortion, does everyone else have a right to refuse a COVID shot? The "my ...
Viewpoint: Does mounting evidence for vaccine “durability” suggest we delay boosters for all until we learn more?
When President Biden announced that beginning the week of September 20, “anyone vaccinated on or before January 20 will be ...
‘Regulatory Wild West’: The US fertility industry is often derisively characterized. Here’s why — and what should be done
When embryologist Joseph Conaghan arrived at work at San Francisco’s Pacific Fertility Center on March 4, 2018, nothing seemed awry. He ...
Viewpoint: Did men evolve to be better athletes than women? Here’s a rethink
As the Summer Olympics gear up to kick off in Tokyo, Japan, on July 23—delayed a year thanks to the ...
GLP Podcast: End climate ‘alarmism’; FDA vs kratom; Is ‘GMO’ ice cream dangerous? Nope
Human-caused climate is occurring, but the science community may be amplifying the public's skepticism with failed "alarmist" predictions. Is kratom ...
Coronaviruses thrive in animals. Could a far more lethal COVID variant emerge in pets?
The recent suggestion that ministers may have to consider culling or vaccinating animals to prevent the coronavirus from picking up another ...
COVID vaccine and mask guidance confusion? Why we should cut the CDC some slack — It’s the norm when dealing with fast-evolving disease crises
There is continuing confusion, and even consternation, over what seem to be disparate policies, recommendations and mandates emerging in response ...
Baby talk: What we can learn from bats about how human moms and babies communicate
“Mamama,” “dadada,” “bababa” – parents usually welcome with enthusiasm the sounds of a baby’s babble. Babbling is the first milestone ...
It’s not going away: We need a real, non-political debate about the best way to live with COVID or countries will fracture
In 1968, at the height of the last great influenza pandemic, at least a million people worldwide died, including 100,000 ...
