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
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 ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s ‘useful idiots’: His 6-point plant that undermines U.S. health policy rolls along
It seems like ancient history now, but it was really only three months ago that I first wrote a post ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s cronies offered global vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit $1 million to debate the safety of vaccines. He said no. Why? They’re disingenuous and nuts
Several years ago, people representing RFK Jr., who at the time was head of the anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense, ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s Denmark vaccine schedule delusion—Why it would be a health disaster in the U.S.
It’s official. CNN confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services was planning to announce an overhaul of the ...
GLP podcast: Evolutionary mismatch. Is civilization wrecking our health?
There's a dangerous mismatch between our biology and the tech-saturated world we inhabit—and it might be killing us. That's the ...
Viewpoint: Killing children, RFK, Jr.-CDC-Trump administration’s plan to roll back hepatitis birth dosing will skyrocket cases and lead to preventable diseases
On December 14, 1999, a previously healthy infant was admitted to a Michigan hospital with diarrhea and jaundice. Within hours, ...
Viewpoint: The functional medicine scam—Its ‘board certified’ practitioners peddle unnecessary tests and useless supplements
"Board certified" is a common and persuasive credential, particularly in medicine, often implying a recognized level of expertise. However, this ...
Viewpoint: In trying to link aluminum in vaccines to autism, RFK, Jr. unsurprisingly again bungles the science
RFK Jr is a liar. Full stop. He has been for decades — it’s what has led to his profitable ...
Might CRISPR gene editing in medicine open up a can of ‘unintended consequences’ worms? RNA advances could address that threat
The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the first-ever clinical trial that uses CRISPR-Cas13 RNA editing. Its aim ...
50 million tinnitus sufferers in the US take note: This device might relieve the often-devastating ring-like ‘noise’
Tinnitus, the rockstar of auditory annoyances, is a buzzing, ringing, or tone that only you can hear. It's a party ...
GLP podcast: Ketamine—miracle depression treatment, or recreational nightmare?
Widely used as a battlefield anesthetic in the later stages of the Vietnam War, ketamine has emerged as a key ...
Viewpoint: An inside look at the turmoil and science hypocrisy at RFK Jr.’s CDC
John Weiser, a doctor and researcher, has treated people with HIV since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the ...
Most scientists reject social media while others consider it their obligation to counter junk claims. Here’s the best of the best
Once upon a time, science communication was a niche hobby, reserved for the rare few who could translate lab jargon ...
Challenging Kennedy—MAHA skepticism disinformation: No, the vaccine schedule is not a haphazard, scientific mess
Parents face an overwhelming amount of conflicting vaccine information, so it’s natural for questions to surface: Why are some vaccines given ...
Viewpoint: Follow the science? In this era of hyper-partisanship, Republicans and Democrats follow different paths
We’re often told to “follow the science” — a comforting phrase that suggests clarity, objectivity, and consensus. But in today’s ...
Viewpoint: Toxic politics and the culture wars—MIT’s ‘Undark’ caves to the MAHA—RFK, Jr.—predatort lobby
Few issues reveal the corrosion of scientific reasoning in contemporary politics more clearly than the escalating fight over the alleged ...
Viewpoint: White genocide—The potential for ideologically weaponizing AI is growing and potentially dangerous
The AI chatbot Grok went on an antisemitic rant on July 8, 2025, posting memes, tropes and conspiracy theories used ...
Viewpoint: Environmental toxin hysteria—MIT’s Undark embarrasses with hysteria-driven story aligning itself with false claims that ‘environmental toxins’ (whatever that means) are crippling our health
MIT’s Undark magazine describes itself as a publication that “will explore science … as a frequently wondrous, sometimes contentious, and occasionally troubling byproduct of ...
The world’s oldest baby: A 30-year old frozen embryo is now a child
A baby born in the U.S. has made headlines for a surprising reason: they came from an embryo that had ...
Viewpoint—Chemophobia: The alliance of environmental activists and lawyers
From tampons to tap water, from cereal boxes to vaccines, nearly every modern health scare rests on the same myth: ...
Quirks of evolution: Human vs ape testicle size and why we are the only animal with chins
The human body is a machine whose many parts – from the microscopic details of our cells to our limbs, ...
Tripping through loopholes: Ketamine, Musk and America’s regulation blackout
After trying unsuccessfully to treat his depression with medication over several decades, Noel Farris, a 43-year-old web developer based in ...
The link between signature size and narcissism. What does President Trump’s signature say
For years, Donald Trump’s distinctive, large and bold signature has captured the public’s attention. Not only did it recently come ...
