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.
Why we shouldn’t be afraid of human gene editing
[Editor's note: Dave Gammon is an associate professor of biology at Elon University.] Many feel a visceral dread that scientists ...
Modeling human tumors in mice can be problematic—here’s why
[A] new study [read full study] suggests that an unfortunate side effect of ... evolutionary changes is that human tumors are ...
Pro fighters monitored to shed light on early signs of trauma-induced brain damage
Researchers have enrolled close to 700 mixed martial arts fighters and boxers, both active and retired, in the past six years ...
Viewpoint: ‘Clean eating’ is pseudoscience
[Editor's note: Dr. Steven Novella is an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine.] Eating “clean” is the ...
When does life begin? Here are 17 points in time to consider
The US Department of Health and Human Services has taken the official position that life begins at conception. Here's a ...
Could artificial intelligence, machine learning help detect sepsis early?
Driven by the nation’s aging population, the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, and the growth of medical interventions, sepsis has become ...
IARC bombshell: WHO cancer agency ‘edited out’ draft findings glyphosate non-carcinogenic
The World Health Organization's cancer agency dismissed and edited findings from a draft of its review of the weedkiller glyphosate ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
‘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 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 ...
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 ...
