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.
Peak athletic performance: What are our human limits?
Athletic performance follows a normal distribution, like many other quantities in nature. That means that the number of people capable ...
GMO ‘virus-free’ pigs stir debate about ‘pushing limits’ of genetic research
These pigs are really just like any other pigs, except they were born without any genes in their genomes that ...
Does the ‘Nordic diet’ reduce stroke risk? Maybe, maybe not
Study gives teeth to claims that the Nordic diet--which limits foods to what people in Denmark, Sweden and other northern ...
Muscular dystrophy ‘death sentence’ targeted by gene therapy trials
[T]hree U.S. teams say they are ready to try to treat Duchenne [Muscular Dystrophy] with gene therapy. The first study ...
Truth about genetic tests: ‘They don’t seal your fate’
Once difficult and expensive even for the most technologically advanced labs, genetic testing is fast becoming a cheap and easy ...
Why we hallucinate–and why it’s not always a bad thing
Hallucinations are often distressing—a suggestion that something is amiss in our brains. But new research suggests we’re all susceptible to ...
Could we artificially create mutations that might aid cells in battling cancer?
The scientific challenge has not just been to demonstrate convincingly that harsh environments cause nonrandom mutations. It has also been ...
Why don’t two people with the same illness suffer equally? It’s genetic
Ever wonder why your friend, co-worker, or partner doesn’t get as sick as you, even though they caught the same ...
Yoga may be good for your mind, body–but what about your genes?
Research suggests that yoga, and similar mindfullness-focused activities, may foster genetic changes that help people cope with stress and avoid ...
Podcast: Can the US learn from Canada’s ‘product-based’ GMO regulatory system?
Biotech legal expert Robert Potter: How GMOs are regulated differently in the US and Canada ...
Cancer early warning system: Blood test looks for bits of DNA shed from tumors
In a bid to detect cancers early and in a noninvasive way, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center ...
Mysterious ‘jumping genes’ responsible for spontaneous diseases at birth
Nearly half [of our genes are] made up of jumping genes, which are also called mobile DNA or mobile genetic ...
‘Genome cloaking’ could protect genetic privacy in medical tests
It is now possible to scour complete human genomes for the presence of disease-associated genes without revealing any genetic information ...
Male sterility may be correctable through stem cell treatments, if mice studies lead to human cure
A common genetic cause of male infertility has been overcome in mice using a technique that creates healthy sperm in ...
If gene editing had been approved, my brother would never have been born
[Editor's note: Joel Reynolds is a postdoctoral fellow in bioethics at the Hastings Center..] For the first time in the ...
Use of embryo selection in China is soaring: Is that a good thing?
Early experiments are beginning to show how genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR might one day fix disease-causing mutations before embryos are implanted ...
Do genetic tests inspire healthier habits? Evidence says ‘no’
If you learned your DNA made you more susceptible to getting a disease, wouldn't you work to stay healthy? You'd ...
Mutation identified that contributes to Lou Gehrig’s disease and possibly Alzheimer’s
A team led by scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Mayo Clinic has identified a basic biological mechanism ...
Bodybuilder’s death offers warning about genetics and rising use of protein supplements
The death of an Australian bodybuilder with a rare genetic disorder should serve as a cautionary tale for those who ...
Viewpoint: Democrats’ GMO labeling push is an embarrassment to pro-science progressives
A group of House Democrats, who called the proposed federal GMO labeling standards 'weak' and 'confusing,' are being urged not ...
‘Futuristic star’: The scientist growing transplantable human organs in pigs
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte had spent years probing the inner workings of embryos, ferreting out the genes that give a ...
Could a Planet of the (Talking) Apes ever really evolve?
War for the Planet of the Apes is the latest entry in the 50-year old franchise. A scientist asks: do ...
Lessons from Ground Zero: Key Haven rejected release of GMO mosquitoes because of a ‘mistrust of science’
When Monroe County [Florida] held a nonbinding referendum last year on whether to allow the experimental release of genetically modified ...
Microbiome and health: Stress, diet and genetics responsible for how bacteria influences our immune system
Could the idea that there are "good" and "bad" bacteria be a false dichotomy? … In a study on mice, scientists found ...
Americans shedding their skepticism of human genome editing
Earlier surveys of Americans (here and here) have found a reluctance to support human genome editing...But the new survey, conducted by social ...
How male DNA finds its way into women’s brains
Do women retain DNA from every man they have ever slept with? No. [But this study] found male cells in 37 out ...
Alternative medicine can kill you
Chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, juice diets, and other forms of unproven alternative medicine cannot cure cancer, no matter what some quacks ...
