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
Couples can protect children from devastating mutations with new IVF methods
IVF clinics are moving beyond chromosome counting to offer families a more in-depth genetic analysis of embryos before implantation. This ...
Glyphosate used with GMO crops under attack for disrupting microbiome: Science or a gut feeling?
Despite professional science and health organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science ...
Are we Martians? DNA survives entry into Earth’s atmosphere–Are planets source of life?
Exposed to the high temperatures of rapid transit through the upper atmosphere, DNA, the hereditary material in all life, survives ...
Unravelling Ebola via early detection
Could monitoring the genetic activity of white blood cells be the key to catching Ebola before it becomes symptomatic and ...
Of mice and men: Comparing genetics raises new questions about reliability of rodent studies
The laboratory mouse really lies at the foundation of numerous life science studies, but is it an appropriate model in ...
Sorry Dr. Oz and Jenny McCarthy: More scientific proof vaccines, GMOs don’t cause autism
Despite the loud voices of disinformation, the scientific community has overwhelmingly agreed that there is no causal link between vaccines ...
Genetics may explain why many near Fukushima nuclear disaster unaffected by radiation exposure
People fear the effects or radiation, particularly in the aftermath of nuclear disasters, but not all the health news after ...
Canada gearing up to pass law against genetic discrimination
Canada is gearing up to pass a law against genetic discrimination. How is the rest of the world dealing with ...
Depression researchers look ahead for ‘golden age’ of research by drawing on cancer’s track record
Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment could yield valuable insights for depression researchers, who struggle to understand the role of ...
Immunorepertoire: New slant on personalized medicine
Antibodies and T cell receptors recognize all of the proteins in our bodies, and thereby provide a record of everything ...
Can you think your way out of the depression box?
A form of therapy that focuses on changing negative thoughts and behaviors is showing promise in the treatment of depression ...
Sex in space: What does the future hold when space tourism catches on
The recent crash of Virgin Galactic notwithstanding, we are on the cusp of an era of space tourism. We just ...
Human obesity and livestock growth: Are antibiotics the link?
Patients often request and use antibiotics thinking they have no long-term effects of the medications. But work on the human ...
Profile of a personal genetics company: PHENOMBio
Interest in personal genomics sites that provide insight into the link between your genes and disease proclivities is booming. But ...
Cost benefits of cancer screenings get political in the UK
Cancer screening have helped save many of lives, but have shifted the demographics of who gets the disease. Should we ...
Fatal Retraction: Downside of early cancer detection
Google recently promised to develop early-detection technology for cancer, heart disease and strokes. While early diagnosis might seem like a ...
Food Babe flops on BRCA mutations: Understand genetics or go home
Charlatans like Food Babe, Dr. Oz, Joseph Mercola, and Vandana Shiva represent everything disgraceful about unscientific propaganda. Cancer misinformation is ...
Rationalizing health risks difficult, especially when emotions in play
From Ebola to breast cancer screenings, people have a difficult time understanding where their health risks truly lie. Our emotional ...
Is increase in ADHD an artifact of our modern educational system?
One in ten American children will be treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD at some point in their ...
Should have asked Hamlet: Study finding Danish genes foster happiness needs some work
Why a study alleging Danes are happiest and French most grumpy because of their respective gene pool is not worth ...
Targeted antibiotic treatments–What’s on the horizon?
New research is uncovering ways of modifying bacterial enzymes to make future antibiotics more specific - and thus less likely ...
Genetic “hall of mirrors” with large palindromes, yet smaller: What’s mighty about the mouse
Human Y has been described as a genetic "hall of mirrors" riddled with several regions of large palindromes. Believe it ...
Designer babies: You can screen for cystic fibrosis but intelligence is a ways off
Using a technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, it’s possible to screen embryos for disease and sex before they are implanted ...
Spontaneous mutations and the genetic mysteries of autism
At least 30% of all autism cases is caused by spontaneous, or de novo, mutations. Lends new weight to hypothesis ...
Genetic technologies offer long and short term views of Ebola dangers
High yield genetic sequencers, cell phones and paper-based diagnostics are all being employed to develop a cohesive picture of the ...
DNA-based electrical circuits might serve as basis for computers, detect genetic disorders
A new technology may soon be born at the intersection of genetics and computer science. An international team of scientists ...
In biotech, no one is afraid of the big, bad wolf (spider)
Spiders are friends and understanding the natural world can help us achieve advances in areas like biotechnology, human health and ...
