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
Genome sequencing is getting cheaper, but might make healthcare more expensive
Cheaper genomic sequencing will give more patients and their physicians access to genetics in the healthcare system. But will that ...
Can open-source strategy help synbio avoid controversial fate of GMOs?
It’s not the use of recombinant technology, but rather capitalism and greed that has stigmatized genetic engineering in our culture ...
How a small stretch of DNA can keep species separate — even when they interbreed
Sometimes, two distinct species interbreed, even though they're technically not supposed to. But what stops these rare cases of hybridization ...
Beyond autopsies: Using post-mortem brain scans to understand stroke, head injury and death
Besides their ability to lie completely still in MRI scanners, making them excellent patients, corpses have a lot of offer ...
How do hummingbirds find life-sustaining nectar without sweet-taste receptor genes?
Birds can't taste sweet, they lack all traces of genes for sweet-taste receptors. So how is it that hummingbirds -- ...
Ten years in, first trial treatment from California’s stem cell initiative approved
It’s been ten years since California voters approved their state-funded stem cell initiative. Critics have charged that the initiative as ...
Black Plague modified human genes, no biotech needed
Evidence continues to build that at least part of our ancestors’ story is encoded in our DNA--and the information comes ...
I’m more afraid of my kids’ genomic data NOT being sequenced than how it might be misused
The era of precision genomics is upon us, and as with GMO foods, that scares some people. But not GLP ...
Diet wars: ‘Caveman diet’ is all the rage, but ignores what our ancient ancestors really ate
Before the advances that made agriculture possible, humans ate solely what they could hunt and gather, which varied wildly depending ...
23andMe moves to mend fences with FDA, seeks Bloom syndrome test approval
Seven months after the FDA forced 23andMe to stop reporting health results to its customers, the personal genomics company is ...
Genetic empowerment: Extreme athlete probes own genetics to streamline diagnosis
When extreme athlete Kim Goodsell discovered that she had two extremely rare but ostensibly unrelated genetic diseases, she taught herself ...
When is a ‘modified organism’ a GMO?
Where is the threshold between natural "involvement" and unnatural "interference" when using technology to improve our food? ...
More details on Google’s Baseline human health project
Google X’s new Baseline Project was made public in July. Although widely reported that the study would only focus on ...
Information-rich society drains our brains of creativity if we don’t take needed breaks
Creativity, argues neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, requires mental downtown for ideas and connections to bubble up out of our knowledge base ...
Is epigenetics being exploited by the media?
Epigenetics has seen a flurry of research and headlines lately, achieving science-buzzword status. But is the immature nature of the ...
How ancient humans can help us better understand ourselves
For 200,000 years, modern humans have walked the earth. How did we become what we are today? In answering this ...
Video: Appetite control and emotion arise from similar brain areas
Relatively few neurons, only thousands, control appetite in a brain region linked to inhibition, fear and emotion according to a ...
Brain breakthrough: Genome-wide association studies herald advances in treating mental disorders
Nothing is more challenging to science, or potentially more heartbreaking, than mental illness. The human brain remains inscrutable. But recent ...
Does Nicholas Wade’s ‘A Troublesome Inheritance’ focus on ‘race’ inaccurately portray human differences?
A new book by Nicholas Wade is being condemned by scientists, who claim that it paints a false picture of ...
Your brain is making subliminal, near-instantaneous judgements of people based on their faces
Your brain is making a snap judgement on the trustworthiness of each stranger you see based on their faces -- ...
Who wants to live to forever?
When does a 7-year-old consider the onset of old age to begin? What about when he’s 70? Ameliorating aging comes ...
Taking ancestry into account with personalized medicine
A study of Mexican genetics reveals staggering diversity. In an increasingly globalized world, with human populations mixing at unprecedented rates, ...
Cancer genomes to enter private practice
New technology promises quick turn around for cancer genome testing, but do we understand tumor DNA well enough to capitalize? ...
Only need four hours of sleep per night? New-found ‘Thatcher’ gene mutation may explain why
Do you have a friend who can get by on just a few hours of sleep without any ill effects? ...
GMO tobacco ‘mystery serum’ rescues Ebola virus victims
Two American healthcare workers infected with Ebola virus in Liberia received an experimental antibody serum created with genetically engineered tobacco ...
What the F@$! is Synthetic Biology?
Synthetic biology is often portrayed as the Next New Thing, a development that will revolutionize the way we think of ...
10,000 hours of practice leads to mastery? That’s not what our genes say.
Talent, as encoded in our genes, may mean more than practice when it comes to mastery. Identical twins who practiced ...
