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.
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Bipartisan group of 79 congressmen urge EPA, FDA to streamline agricultural biotech regulations
In a letter to three federal agency heads on Tuesday, a group of 79 bipartisan members of the United States ...
Should cancer be treated based on what part of the body it attacks—or its genetic make-up?
[D]octors have organized their notions of cancer according to that fundamental principle of real estate: location, location, location. Oncologists often ...
Why ChemChina’s Syngenta takeover doesn’t mean China will quickly embrace GMO crops
The head of one of China’s biggest chemicals companies has played down expectations the country will become more open to ...
Born to exercise? ‘Fitness’ genes may help lower breast cancer risk
A growing number of studies show that exercise offers protection against breast cancer. Research on mice suggests that some of ...
Synthetic incompatibility: Preventing GMO mosquitos from spreading their genes
A major obstacle to applying genetic engineering to benefit humans and the environment is the risk that organisms whose genes ...
Does ‘mindfulness’ make you healthier? Scientific data ‘woefully lacking’
The concept of mindfulness involves focusing on your present situation and state of mind. This can mean awareness of your ...
Viewpoint: Overly strict human gene-editing regulations let patients suffer and die
[Editor’s note: Henry Miller is a physician and molecular biologist, and a Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He ...
Why hunter-gatherer civilizations did not destroy themselves through inbreeding
Much like hunter-gatherers today, ancient Eurasians married outside their home groups and formed webs of friends and in-laws vital for ...
French grain farmers’ union opposes glyphosate ban, calling herbicide ‘essential’
With France set to vote against EU glyphosate re-registration this month, a group of French farmers have said they will ...
23andMe thrives despite long-running conflicts with FDA
[23andMe CEO Anne] Wojcicki set out to disrupt the health-care industry in 2006. Her goal was to put sophisticated DNA ...
Genetic engineering and gene silencing could fight deadly crop mycotoxins—if not blocked by activists
Aflatoxins are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses annually. Farmers have struggled to control the troublesome ...
Polygamy and genetics: Short Creek, Utah’s inbreeding mutation epidemic
[In 1990], 10-year-old boy was presented to Theodore Tarby, a doctor specialising in rare childhood diseases. ... [S]oon Tarby had diagnosed a ...
What’s so important about sleep?
It’s common to try to cram more waking hours into each day. About half of people worldwide get less than ...
‘Synthetic lethality’ targets cancer cells by damaging vulnerable DNA
By designing small molecules that can “turn off” kinase enzymes stuck in the “on” position, they have managed to ward ...
Racists are wrong: Both light and dark skin originated in Africa
[L]ong-held racist assumptions based on skin color have been scientifically proven wrong, according to a groundbreaking new study in the ...
US Department of Health and Human Services states life begins at conception
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just released their 2018-2022 plan, which unequivocally states that life begins at ...
Is sexual orientation ‘gaydar’ detection machine sound or ethical?
[Michal Kosinski] decided to show that it was possible to use facial recognition analysis to detect something intimate, something “people ...
Human extinction could come within 5,100 years
Every day, it seems, brings with it fresh new horrors. Mass murder. Catastrophic climate change. Nuclear annihilation. It's all enough to make a ...
Is life-extending modern medicine ‘unnatural?’
The word ‘unnatural’ conjures up feelings of doom and dread, and it is unfortunately often used by critics of science ...
Mild to murderous: Zika’s one mutation evolution
Zika has been around for some time – first identified in 1947 in Uganda - but it was never really given much thought. It ...
Human empathy gene might determine your emotional ability
In a first-of-its kind study looking at empathy, researchers have found strong evidence that the ability to read and understand ...
Why won’t pharmaceutical companies invest in male birth control?
Male birth control is the great promise that never was. We’ve been just a few years away from a male ...
Cancers and other rare diseases in crosshairs of researchers using breakthrough DNA sequencing
The improvements and discoveries in DNA sequencing in recent years has had immediate clinical consequences, including the real possibility of ...
What do your Neanderthal genes do?
By sequencing a remarkably complete genome from a 50,000-year-old bone fragment of a female Neandertal found in Vindija Cave in ...
Should you get paid for your genetic data?
Your DNA determines many aspects of who you are, and an increasing number of companies are claiming they can decode ...
Lucid dreaming linked to higher creativity
Have you ever had a dream so real, you mistook it for reality? This is a state called lucid dreaming ...
How do you know if your mutation will lead to a genetic disease?
Sonia Vallabh, a scientist, carries a rare mutation that normally causes a neurodegenerative disease. How likely is it she will ...
