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: Climate change enhances farming? Lawyers target paraquat; NYT vs anti-GMO groups
Climate change could boost crop yields in the coming decades, but pests enabled by the warmer temperatures may offset whatever ...
If evolution encourages reproduction, why do people have same-sex preferences?
Same-sex sexual behaviour may seem to present a Darwinian paradox. It provides no obvious reproductive or survival benefit, and yet ...
How important is testosterone for male success?
There’s a widespread belief that your testosterone can affect where you end up in life. At least for men, there ...
GLP Podcast: ‘Big Fears, Little Risks’ — Documentary featuring GLP experts tackles GMO, vaccine skepticism
The evidence is in: genetic engineering promotes sustainable farming; vaccines save lives; and nuclear energy is our best hope of ...
The ‘storm in their minds’: How the gap between laboratory insights and clinical analysis is narrowing
When someone close to you develops signs of mental illness, you spring into detective mode. You ask questions, but the answers ...
Mice: The intrepid soldiers helping us fight COVID-19
As highly infectious variants of COVID-19 emerge and devastate regions across the world, scientists continue to rely on unexpected foot ...
Israel’s early COVID vaccine rollout went 1100% better than in the United States. What did they do differently?
[As of January 8, we had only] vaccinated 1.38% of our population [in the United States, while Israel had] vaccinated ...
GLP Podcast: Anti-smoking drug fights COVID; Designer babies unethical? Scientists invade social media GMO debate
Could a re-purposed smoking cessation drug help prevent the spread of SARS-COV-2? An increasing number of parents are screening their ...
Male investment: Humans are one of the few species in which men supply a lot more than sperm
Lee Gettler is hard to get on the phone, for the very ordinary reason that he’s busy caring for his ...
Viewpoint: Can parents select for healthier children? A new tool for predicting polygenic traits kicks off a fierce debate
Motherhood is rewarding, but pregnancy is risky. Pregnant women usually steer clear of environmental risks that can harm the child ...
Did COVID-19 originate in a laboratory? Many scientists still harbor questions
Nikolai Petrovsky was scrolling through social media after a day on the ski slopes when reports describing a mysterious cluster of ...
Podcast: What goes on inside the brain of a terrorist? This cognitive scientist made it his mission to find out
In this episode, join freelance reporter Malia Politzer and podcast host Lydia Chain as they dive into the scientific efforts ...
GLP Podcast: Biotech’s ‘dark side’; Pro-science consumers spread ‘misinformation’; Mandatory HPV shots?
Biotechnology has launched a revolution in food and medicine, but it can also be badly misused by governments and individual ...
How snake venom and a smoking cessation drug inspired a nasal spray that blocks COVID
A simple nasal spray that stops SARS-CoV-2 in its tracks? That could block the coronavirus in the nose, before it ...
Humans are poor climbers and clumsy jumpers, but boy can we throw. Here’s how and why that happened
With the Tokyo Olympics on the horizon, Kara Winger is training hard. “I want to make the top eight in ...
Taboo: Why has Africa emerged as the global coronavirus ‘Cold Spot’ — and why are we afraid to talk about it?
The first COVID-19 case in Africa was confirmed on February 14th, 2020, in Egypt. The first in sub-Saharan Africa appeared ...
Do our brains predict how we think? Psychedelics may help answer that question
“Everything became imbued with a sense of vitality and life and vividness. If I picked up a pebble from the ...
GLP Podcast: When science isn’t about evidence; Bayer pulling Roundup off retail shelves; Kenya approves GMO cassava
A researcher who challenged the consensus on obesity was blasted in the media by her colleagues. Is this an example ...
‘Minimizing the probability of adverse outcomes’ is driving the ever-changing, sometimes conflicting recommendations on mask wearing
There is increasing confusion, and even consternation, over what seem to be disparate policies, recommendations, and mandates emerging in response ...
Why the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to surprise us
As people in the US grapple with a return to masking to stay ahead of the delta and lambda variants ...
Viewpoint: Creationism overruns archaeology? Promotion of indigenous origin stories challenges scientific consensus
In April, one of us—Elizabeth Weiss—gave a talk, titled Has Creationism Crept Back into Archaeology?, at the 86th Annual Meeting of ...
GLP podcast: Greenpeace v Golden Rice; Vaccine side effects—myth or reality? Objective truth under fire
The Philippines has finally approved Golden Rice, and Greenpeace is doing everything in its power to reverse the decision. A ...
Skin cancer and screening: The good and the bad of ‘overdiagnosis’
About a decade ago, when he was a first-year dermatology resident, Adewole Adamson learned that “exploding” rates of melanoma were ...
Hulu’s Rosemary’s Baby redux ‘False Positive’ bungles the science and stretches credulity
I looked forward to Hulu’s original horror film False Positive, pitched as a modern-day Rosemary’s Baby. It premiered at the Tribeca ...
Our prowess in sports has deep roots in evolution
The coming Olympics will showcase some of the most extraordinary human feats of strength, speed, and agility. As an archaeologist ...
High on prehistoric life: When did humans begin experimenting with mind-altering drugs and alcohol?
Humans constantly alter the world. We fire fields, turn forests into farms, and breed plants and animals. But humans don’t ...
Podcast: The COVID genetic sequencing revolution; Ban human gene editing? Brainless slime redefines cognition
For all the ills it brought, the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped revolutionize genetic sequencing. Human gene editing is fraught ...
