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
Defining life: If it’s created in a lab, is it really alive?
Describing life is difficult and evasive. Will we fully understand life if we can create it through synthetic biology? ...
Gender and the brain: Are there hardwired differences between men and women?
The idea that genders are different in a neurological sense is picking up considerable momentum in the hard sciences. It could have ...
Is it time to rethink evolutionary timeline for Earth’s animals?
New research suggests that animal origins happened much earlier than previously thought ...
Viewpoint: Why consumer DNA tests are more dangerous than you might think
Commercial DNA testing isn’t just harmless entertainment. It’s keeping alive ideas that deserve to die ...
Rewiring the brain and what’s happening when we’re ‘thinking ourselves better’
A self-help skeptic is confronted with evidence — anecdotal and scientific — that we may be able to think ourselves ...
Race and genetics: How our ancestry both limits and exacerbates disease risks
Members of different ethnic groups living in the same region may have widely varying life expectancies. A wide range of ...
Understanding the brain’s record-keeping system
The brain has a temporary way to keep track of memories ...
When the nose never knows: Exploring the genetics behind a missing sense of smell
Imagine life without odors. Food tastes the same regardless of how congested your nasal passages are or how damaged your ...
Why are humans so much smarter than other primates?
By counting the number of neurons in brains, one scientist revolutionized our view of why Homo sapiens and nonhuman primates ...
Sexual reproduction may not be the best evolutionary strategy. So why do we do it?
In many ways asexual reproduction is a better evolutionary strategy: only one parent is needed, and all of their genes ...
Things to consider before taking a genetic test for Alzheimer’s risk
Genetic testing is available to people who want to know if they carry a variant of a gene that confers ...
‘Voluntary euthanasia’: Are we ready to harvest organs while donors are still alive?
In the dystopian society of Nobel prizewinner Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, cloned people are raised to provide organs for ...
Viewpoint: Coffee cancer warning illustrates failure of California’s Prop 65 law
On August 29, the FDA threw its hat into California’s eternal does-or-doesn’t-coffee-cause-cancer fight. “Requiring a cancer warning on coffee, based ...
Using engineered gut bacteria to fight genetic disease
A Boston-based synthetic biology company is taking a novel approach to treating the rare genetic metabolic disorder Phenylketonuria. Synlogic uses ...
Why the promise of personalized medicine could fall short for minorities
African-Americans are underrepresented in large-scale genetic and neuroscience studies ...
Why those sleepless nights could increase your Alzheimer’s risk
New research suggests bad sleep causes a build-up of plaque associated with Alzheimer’s ...
National identity and what the genes of Aboriginal Australians tell us about ‘what it is to be human’
Recent genetic research suggests that Aboriginal Australians have lived on their island continent for at least 50,000 years (with some ...
Can artificial intelligence give us a more efficient health care system?
To understand the benefits that artificial intelligence can bring to the world of human medicine, consider the case of Ayako ...
Could a fake surgery really make you feel better?
Did you know placebo surgery occur? Some believe they are the next realm of understanding more about the effect of ...
Was human brain growth driven by ecological challenges?
Most animals have brains in proportion to their body size – species with larger bodies often have larger brains. But ...
Reflex star: How our brain helps us track—and respond to—to balls, cars and other fast moving objects
New research may explain why some people—like sports stars—anticipate and react to fast-moving objects much quicker than others. When Serena ...
Delving into our complicated relationship with carbohydrates
The idea of controlling carbohydrate consumption has been bouncing around the world of diets and medicine for nearly 100 years ...
Video: Why gene editing could change the path of human evolution
Most people think the genetics revolution is primarily about healthcare. But what's really at play is the evolutionary trajectory of ...
When is it time for a scientist to call out peers over questionable research?
Sooner or later, every researcher is likely to wonder: What’s the best way to address faulty or misleading information in ...
Glioblastoma and John McCain: Why this brain cancer remains an ‘insidious enemy’
Sen. John McCain withstood beatings and torture as a prisoner of war, but he was confronted with an enemy in ...
Gene silencing through RNA interference scores first drug approval
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first drug based on RNA interference (RNAi). Unlike media darlings gene therapy ...
Using synthetic biology to help humans adapt to a life on Mars
Synthetic biology could solve many problems that Mars colonization brings up ...
