Health & Medicine
Through the study and use of genetics, we can identify measures that could lead to the improvement of human health and wellness. These methods and procedures aim to prevent years of chronic disease and thousands of dollars in health care costs, and provide families and communities with knowledge of how to live healthier.
Below is the complete archive of related articles sorted by date.
‘Moonshot for biology’: Inside the quest to sequence all life on earth
A mission to sequence the genome of every known animal, plant, fungus and protozoan - a group of single-celled organisms ...
Is organic produce hazardous to your health?
We’ve all heard the reports. Toxic organic pesticides cause problems for the environment. Organic pesticides are linked to Parkinson’s Disease, ...
Viewpoint: What ‘New Atheists’ get wrong about science and religion
New Atheism is a literary movement that sprung up in 2004, led by prominent authors like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, ...
FDA approves 23andMe’s direct-to-consumer DNA test assessing patient’s ability to respond to antidepressants
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced [October 31] that it has approved the marketing of 23andMe’s reports on ...
Genetics and Type 2 diabetes: Why weight loss alone may not be enough for some people
People who develop Type 2 diabetes fall into one of two categories — those whose blood sugar can be controlled ...
Viewpoint: Why a jury verdict against Monsanto doesn’t change anything regarding the safety of Roundup herbicide
The common weed killer Roundup (glyphosate) is back in the news after a US court ruled it contributed to a man’s terminal cancer (non-Hodgkin ...
One scientist’s quest for an anti-aging drug
Judith Campisi has been a leading figure in the biology of aging since the early 1990s, when her research on ...
Which contraceptive is best for you? Precision medicine could provide the answer
Approximately 900 million women around the world use contraceptives. It’s a shame that, even with the best available evidence and resources, an ...
Are more consumers willing to pay a premium for ‘natural, ethical, enhanced’ foods?
People haven’t always thought very hard about their food. For most of human history, simply getting enough to eat was ...
Chocolate labs plagued by consumer-driven ‘genetic bottleneck’
New research shows that chocolate Labrador retrievers are more likely to experience health problems and die younger compared to their ...
Not-so-mad scientists and why they’re making human body parts
Halloween brings a cornucopia of candy body parts, so it’s a good time to review recent advances in organoid technology ...
Viewpoint: Stop using human intelligence to explain machine learning
It’s common to hear phrases like ‘machine learning’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ and believe that somehow, someone has managed to replicate ...
Beyond the binary: Science suggests there’s more than just male or female
Sex can be much more complicated than it at first seems. According to the simple scenario, the presence or absence ...
We don’t grow enough vegetables to feed everyone a healthy diet, study claims
If everyone on the planet wanted to eat a healthy diet, there wouldn't be enough fruit and vegetables to go ...
‘Gender-equality paradox’: Why are differences stronger in wealthier, gender-equal nations?
In Sweden, girls are just as likely to go to school and university as boys are. Women make up a greater ...
Why ending muscle wasting matters for curing cancer
Deterioration of muscle is the cause of death in many diseases, like cancer, but no treatments address this lethal symptom ...
Burkina Faso aims to fight malaria with GMO mosquitoes, but activists warn of ‘species contamination’
Nonprofit group Project Target Malaria plans to conduct an experimental release of genetically engineered mosquitoes to stop the spread of ...
Dogs and words: Do they really understand what we’re saying?
A new study by scientists at Emory University and published Monday [Oct. 15] in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience suggests dogs possess ...
Longer lives for humans? Here’s what it will take
How healthy will the world be in 2040? If things continue as they are now, the answer is better off ...
Eating organic food reduces risk of some cancers, controversial study claims
A French study published in the JAMA [Journal of the American Medical Association[ Internal Medicine journal links eating organic food ...
Eating organic food prevents cancer? New study offers more confusion than clarity
The JAMA [Journal of the American Medical Association] Internal Medicine journal has a report .... on the relationship between organic food ...
Optical illusions and why neural networks can’t seem to figure them out
[Optical illusions] are interesting because they provide insight into the nature of the visual system and perception. So ways of ...
No strings attached: Why are men more interested in casual sex?
First, is there any truth in [gender] stereotypes? And second, if there is, why? The answer to the first question, ...
Is a robotic dog as good as the real thing?
Scientists have long understood the psychological benefits of computerized companions. Studies have shown they can help combat loneliness among the elderly, motivate students in ...
Why we may need a ‘Noah’s Ark’ of microbes to protect our health in the future
Preserving human microbiomes today, especially the more diverse ones from traditional peoples in developing nations, may provide treatments for diseases ...
Peering into our body’s complicated relationship with the sun
One of the impressive things about biochemistry and cell biology is how it can produce physical correlates to things that ...
Failure of race-based medicine? We aren’t accounting for the unique genetics of biracial and multiracial populations
For several decades in modern medicine history, human race has been used as a constant variable to predict and/or determine ...
