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
KFF Part 2: From lifesaver to lifeline in peril — the future of global aids relief amid U.S. budget and bureaucratic overhaul
Following numerous executive actions since January that have fundamentally changed U.S. foreign assistance, KFF, a partner organization of the Genetic ...
Trump’s tariffs: Beijing positions itself as stable biotech ally for the Global South as U.S. protectionism surges
In Kigali, Rwanda, nudging the gleaming avenue that links the city’s downtown to the airport, a quiet hum stirs the ...
KFF Part I: Global health in limbo — USAID’s collapse, CDC cuts, and high-stakes reorganization
Following numerous executive actions since January that have fundamentally changed U.S. foreign assistance, KFF, a partner organization of the Genetic ...
Viewpoint: Darwin’s ‘Descent of Man’ is both deeply disturbing and more relevant than ever
Charles Darwin’s Descent of Man is full of unexpected delights — such as the trio of hard drinking, chain-smoking koalas ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr. wrongly demonizes the safe and effective HPV vaccine Gardasil
While HHS Secretary Kennedy frets over food dye in Froot Loops, his 2023 attack on Gardasil — a vaccine proven ...
Viewpoint: Are Trump’s MAHA policies making America healthier or sicker?
In his March address to Congress, President Donald Trump honored a Texas boy diagnosed with brain cancer. Amid bipartisan applause, ...
Measles outbreak: Republicans more likely than Democrats to believe vaccines more dangerous than the disease itself
As the U.S. grapples with rising measles cases across multiple states and the highest number of cases since 2019, about ...
Viewpoint: mRNA-based vaccines for humans and livestock are under attack, with HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. leading the charge. Their rejectionism is dangerous
The rapid development of safe and effective vaccines against SARS-CoV2 demonstrated the agility and efficacy of mRNA vaccines. The knowledge ...
GLP podcast: Science of reproduction—what does evolution tell us about the ‘sex spectrum’?
Over the last decade, a growing chorus of scientists has declared that biological sex is not binary. Properly assessing human ...
What is the impact of the SCOTUS decision to uphold the Tennessee law banning gender affirming care?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (6-3) in United States v. Skrmetti, upholding the lower court’s ruling that a Tennessee law (SB1) ...
Viewpoint: Wellness influencers (and current federal health officials) fabricate fake ‘root causes’ to sell wellness woo
Another day, another cadre of chiropractors, naturopaths, and wellness influencers undermining scientific research and science-based medicine. But now, it is ...
Viewpoint: Controversy heats up over ‘informed consent’ for trans-identifying teenagers seeking a sex change operation
In the U.S., the mainstream medical (and legal) community strongly supports gender-affirming care for young people. Most American doctors “maintain… ...
Is Alzheimer’s disease transmissible?
Five people treated for pituitary dwarfism decades ago with human growth hormone (hGH) pooled from cadavers have shown cognitive decline ...
GLP podcast: Marijuana legalization—smart policy or risk to public health?
With a growing number of US states legalizing marijuana use, scientists and policymakers are once again engaged in a pitched ...
‘Humanized mice’: Chimeras fuel quest to treat chronic diseases, cancer and even COVID-19
Some medical conditions can't be ethically investigated in humans, so researchers are finding interesting ways to grow people parts in ...
Viewpoint: ‘Utter nonsense’—A biologist’s view of the administration’s declaration defining biological sex
It’s odd for me, as a long-time author of college biology textbooks, to witness governments rule on the nature of ...
Viewpoint: Autism epidemic? RFK, Jr. has grifted off of this lie for decades
If you saw the recent HHS Press Briefing by RFK Jr., you’re likely as horrified as I am. RFK Jr ...
Are chemicals causing a decline in fertility in men? Here’s how ideology corrupts evidence-based science
Attempts to make science conform to ideology have enjoyed a long and dispiriting history. For many centuries, religion was the ...
GLP podcast: Activist—tort lawyer—media coalition targets medical equipment devices made with safe PFAS, risking millions of lives
There's a growing panic over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), most recently targeting fluoropolymers used in medical devices. The issue ...
Viewpoint: Is Trump’s embrace of nuclear energy a game changer?
President Trump [recently] signed four executive orders aimed at moving the United States’ nuclear industry forward. The executive orders (EOs) ...
GLP Spaces on X: Prescribing with precision—antidepressants without overmedicalization?
There's a ditch on both sides of the road, as the old saying goes, when it comes to antidepressants. While ...
Viewpoint: ‘We are witnessing a full-scale assault on science in the U.S’. That will be RFK, Jr.’s legacy
Back in January, during the second day of confirmation hearings for secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy ...
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Report on Pediatric Gender Dysphoria and Gender Conversion Efforts
Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and ...
Blame human evolution for corporate jargon and thick academic prose
For anyone who’s ever worked in a large organization, this kind of message will be depressingly familiar: “Do you have ...
GLP podcast: ‘It wasn’t a total train wreck.’ Breaking down the MAHA Commission Report
It wasn't a total train wreck. That's the best way to summarize the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission's May ...
Viewpoint: PFAS—Fluoropolymer panic shows how the activist-tort lawyer-media complex threatens a lifesaving medical technology
Early last year, the Environmental Working Group and the Green Science Policy Institute launched an attack on a family of ...
GLP podcast: Should doctors go to jail for prescribing opioids?
In the late 1990s, America began to see a dramatic uptick in the misuse of prescription opioids. Fueled by unethical ...
