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.
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO activist Doug Gurian-Sherman’s Food Evolution review misrepresents Uganda banana research
[Editor's note: Patricia Nanteza is a science communicator at Uganda's National Banana Research Program. The following is excerpted from her letter to ...
GM yeast grows non-psychoactive marijuana compound for potential epilepsy treatment
A non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana plants called cannabidivarin (CBDV) has shown promise in the treatment of severe cases of epilepsy ...
Two US Congressional committees ask IARC cancer agency to testify, citing ‘scientific integrity’ concerns
Two influential U.S. Congressmen have asked the World Health Organization’s cancer agency to get ready to testify about its work ...
Gene silencing could control disease, contamination in wheat and other crops
Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen of cereals worldwide, causing seedling, stem base and floral diseases, including Fusarium Head ...
Viewpoint: ‘GMO paranoia’ blocking scientifically sound solutions to food system problems
According to NPR’s All Things Considered, [genetically engineered pigs] could save farmers millions of dollars on heating and food. ...
Australia imports over 60 GMO food crops—but farmers can only grow one
Food derived from 60 genetically modified crops can be imported into Australia, but local growers can only grow one GM ...
Conjoined twins: How do you decide which one to save?
Doctors at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children faced an ethical challenge when a pair of conjoined twins born in Africa ...
Toxin-neutralizing GMO peanuts could solve serious food safety issue in Africa and Asia
Aflatoxin contamination in peanuts poses major challenges for vulnerable populations of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Developing peanut varieties to ...
Video: How glyphosate herbicide enables no-till, environmentally friendly farming
[Editor's note: Jake Freestone is the manager of an arable and sheep LEAF Demonstration Farm in Tewkesbury, England.] [N]o-till or zero-till, ...
Gene circuit triggers immune system to battle cancer
A research team at MIT has used synthetic biology to create a gene circuit that triggers the immune system to ...
New rice variety that grows in salty water could feed millions in China
Scientists in China have developed several types of rice that can be grown in seawater, potentially creating enough food for ...
Controversy walks hand-in-hand with the artificial womb, but is it warranted?
Research into the development of an artificial womb has sparked a wide range of conjecture from bioethicists who worry about ...
Keeping aging at bay by killing ‘zombie cells’
[Jan] van Deursen and his colleagues at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, [had] an idea: could killing off these 'zombie' ...
Ancient incompatibility: Why human females and Neanderthal males had difficulty conceiving
After years of sequencing the genomes of female Neandertals, researchers have finally got their first good look at the Y ...
Safer CRISPR? Cas13 version edits RNA, not DNA
CRISPR, while a major leap forward in gene editing, can still be a blunt instrument. There have been problems with ...
‘Chemical surgery’ could treat diseases by fixing genetic mutations
A breakthrough in “chemical surgery” that can correct a type of genetic mutation behind a host of diseases has been ...
How one farmer stood up to anti-GMO activists and the Italian state—and won
As chair of the local farmers federation [Giorgio Fidenato, a small-holder farmer growing corn, tomatoes and soybeans in Italy] pushes for ...
Life-forming water droplets could have jump-started early evolution
Reactions in tiny droplets of water may have given rise to some of the molecules essential for the origin of ...
Disease-resistant GM potatoes that reduce pesticide use ‘worked brilliantly’ in UK field trial
A genetically-modified (GM) potato designed to resist a devastating plant disease has worked “brilliantly” during the first year of field ...
Can any GMO documentary, pro or con, get the issue right?
Both films [Food Evolution and Island Earth] were fun to watch. They both also get a lot of the facts right. But ...
How our brain perceives time
Internal time perception is complex, involving disperse areas of the brain. But a new field of research called neurorelativity, using ...
Bioethics: What are CRISPR’s real threats and rewards?
[S]cientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research participated in an international think tank this month ...
Genetic predisposition to high triglycerides can be mitigated with healthy BMI, diet
Triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood, are important for good health. But having high triglycerides might increase a ...
Biohackers help ‘patient’ inject himself with experimental HIV treatment—live on Facebook
[Tristan] Roberts is about to inject himself with an experimental gene therapy for HIV, a DIY prototype treatment designed by ...
Breast cancer linked to 65 newly-found genetic variants
Women who have a strong family history of breast cancer have double the chance of developing it themselves. But the ...
EU ban of globally used glyphosate would disrupt agricultural and food markets
Some of Europe’s biggest trade partners fear a potential EU ban on glyphosate could hit exports of crops ranging from ...
Viewpoint: IARC glyphosate cancer advisor Christopher Portier’s history of lying about conflicts of interest
In a deposition last month for a court case pending against Monsanto for glyphosate “damages,” [Christopher Portier, the scientist who ...
