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
DNA testing fetus leads moms to their own cancer diagnoses
Moms undergoing genetic testing for fetal health sometimes learn they have cancer. Advances in fetal DNA testing are paving the ...
SynBio is fast lane to entrepreneurial high tech opportunities
Software development used to be the only low barrier entry point to the high tech-sector, but now is the time ...
Unlocking healing powers of the ‘neuroplastic’ brain: Norman Doidge on why ancient faith healers may have been right
Organizational anthropologist and new GLP contributing writer addresses the 'mysteries of the mind'--how the natural plasticity of the brain can ...
It’s 2015: Do you know where your genetic data are?
Are pharmaceutical or insurance companies looking at your DNA? Even when genomes do not identify individuals to which they belong, ...
New packaging for old idea: Can a sense of purpose improve cardiac health?
Media are quick to promote sketchy studies suggesting that a "sense of purpose" is linked to good health. But feeling ...
Evolution is weird: Killer diseases save lives and make us smarter?
Inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, Tay-Sachs disease and certain breast cancers can kill you or make life very challenging. So why ...
Is dancing success ‘in your genes’?
Dance may have evolved for a variety of reasons. To what degree are athletes hardwired? Can your moves on the ...
Gene therapy dilemma: Would you tweak your child’s genes if it might prolong life but leave her deaf?
New gene therapies can bring collateral consequences--solving one heath problem but creating another. Patients, healthcare providers and insurance companies are ...
We have the technology to make bionic hands
Bionic hands and other limbs are not futuristic hopes. Three people already have bionic hands that have been attached surgically ...
Christopher Nolan, Twitter and the future of memory
Memory becomes something of a luxury when the information is easy to recall. They can find a way to do ...
Antibiotics starting to backfire? Here’s one possible solution
Current antibiotics may be reaching the end of their utility. They are often kill healthy parts of out microbiome along ...
Vitamin and mineral supplements: Miracle potions, silent dangers or both?
The multi-billion dollar vitamin and supplement industries are largely unregulated, in part because of the endorsement of one of the ...
Sex, drugs and … vocabulary? Hedonism not only thing that rewards the brain!
For some people, learning new words activates the same machinery in the brain as sex, drugs and possibly fatty and ...
Why are scientists vilified when they profit from their innovations?
A critic of biotech has pointedly identified the number of companies a researcher has founded to underscore what he claims ...
Lesson from Ebola: Tobacco plant key to developing GMO drugs of the future
While any tobacco is harmful if smoked, there's a kind of tobacco that's being put to positive use—namely, the use ...
You are what you don’t eat: Genetics of anorexia and bulimia
The latest research shows how eating disorders, and anorexia in particular, produce a cascade of physical and mental effects, including ...
Aphrodite’s little helper: Out of the box thinking on female libido
Based on the belief that female sexual dysfunction is more often upstairs than down, the drug flibanserin is being promoted ...
Preventing preterm births: Genetic cause could be in the fetus, not the mother
Given the complexity of pregnancy, taking all evidence-based precautions against preterm birth is a wise course of action. But it ...
Unraveling mystery of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A personal journey
This daily ordeal, among other irrational behaviors I suffered, was physically and emotionally exhausting, yet it wouldn't subside until I ...
Is Nature safer, healthier in medicine and food? Deadly take on controversial topic
It's called the "naturalist fallacy". Naturalist beliefs that seeds or foods developed in part by scientists, often working in laboratories, ...
Bob Simon’s final 60 Minutes: Grinding progress of ZMAPP Ebola GMO drug
The final story of Bob Simon's brilliant journalism career put him in the middle of a GMO controversy--the use of ...
Coming age of Xenotransplantation: Would you accept an organ from a pig to save your life?
21 people die every day in the US awaiting a transplant. A shortage of organs means a shortage of organs ...
Was Beethoven’s music inspired by genetic mutations for arrhythmia?
Arrhythmia is a largely a genetic condition that can greatly hinder--or in the rare case of Beethoven, inspire--life. New research ...
Drugs from where?! Female genitals may be source of uniquely effective antibiotic
Despite the yuck factor, bacteria that colonize our bodies are proving to be an effective source of medical treatments including ...
Circadian desynchrony: Can obesity be treated with electricity?
Could a key factor in the obesity epidemic be attributed to the disruption of our metabolic functions (which are intended ...
Jurassic World: Can cloning revive extinct species, protect endangered ones?
DNA can remain stable in bones for millions of years. Can it be mined to resurrect long-dead velociraptors? Woolly mammoths? ...
Starship “Egg”: Sending unborn, frozen embryos across interstellar space
Hibernation is a wonderful option for a small crew of explorers, but for a distant planet with an Earth Like ...
