Daily Human Digest
Every day, the staff of the Genetic Literacy Project scours the Web for stories on a range of human genetics issues, including gene editing, regulations and bioethics, gene therapy, epigenetics, personal genomics, evolution, ancestry and artificial intelligence. We publish excerpts of those stories and encourage our readers to visit the original publications for the complete stories.
FDA approves rapid blood test for coronavirus antibodies. Could help determine who has ‘some’ immunity.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new test for coronavirus antibodies, the first for use in the ...
Racing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, using technologies both old and new
The need to rapidly develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 comes at a time of explosion in basic scientific understanding, including ...
‘Virtual dating’ and how the coronavirus is changing the romantic landscape
Welcome to dating and sex during the coronavirus pandemic. Dating apps have struggled; after all, the whole point of dating ...
Why social distancing is so crucial in the fight against COVID-19
While Covid-19 is different in many ways from the Spanish flu – particularly in terms of who it affects and its ...
Inoculating yourself against coronavirus conspiracy theories
To understand why there’s so much misinformation out there — for example, that the virus was purposely created in a ...
Dealing with ‘confusing directives’, US doctors seek coronavirus advice from Chinese counterparts
Now, fed up with what they see as inadequate and confusing directives from public health authorities, many physicians are trying ...
How long are you infectious? COVID-19 patients struggle to find an answer
Reyhan Harmanci is feeling better. After cycling through an illness she thinks was COVID-19, with headache, fever, and nausea, her ...
Coronavirus might push us towards a more automated society
There’s plenty of hope and opportunity to be found in this crisis. Peter Xing, a keynote speaker and writer on ...
‘Stealth’ technology could mean universal blood transfusions—regardless of blood type
Scientists have created a “stealth” red blood cell that camouflages its immune status, meaning it could potentially be transfused into ...
Infographic: Buying time: What we gain from strong coronavirus measures, including suppression strategies
Summary of the article: Strong coronavirus measures today should only last a few weeks, there shouldn’t be a big peak ...
CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna turns lab into coronavirus test center
A team of academic and industry researchers led by Jennifer Doudna, the researcher best known for her role in the ...
Timing ‘couldn’t have been worse’: Why travel restrictions didn’t prevent a coronavirus pandemic
The most extensive travel restrictions to stop an outbreak in human history haven’t been enough. We analyzed the movements of ...
‘Nothingburger of a paper’ and why we still don’t know if anti-malarial drugs work against the coronavirus
Last week, I wrote about an experimental treatment for COVID-19 that repurposes old drugs. One version of the treatment uses ...
Biomarkers could be key to blood test for concussions
There is no single distinguishing feature of a concussion. Most of these symptoms can also be present in other types of injury ...
Viewpoint: World Health Organization, China must be held accountable for ‘recklessly managing’ coronavirus pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) [March 11] finally declared the coronavirus from China that rapidly spread across the world a pandemic ...
Bronze age gender inequality? Analysis of 2,500-year-old teeth shows different diets for boys and girls
Analysing 2500-year-old teeth has thrown open a window onto life and gender inequality during Bronze Age China. The University of ...
Coronavirus may survive longer than expected on uncleaned surfaces
The news: There were still traces of coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship 17 days after it emptied of passengers, according to a ...
Getting past the coronavirus: ‘A road map to reopening’ by the American Enterprise Institute
Executive Summary This report provides a road map for navigating through the current COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It ...
There are 7 coronaviruses that infect humans. Here’s what makes SARS-CoV-2 so dangerous
SARS-CoV-2 is not the flu. It causes a disease with different symptoms, spreads and kills more readily, and belongs to a completely ...
Warm weather won’t solve COVID-19 pandemic by itself
Many infectious diseases wax and wane with the changing months. Some, like flu, spike when the weather turns cold, while others, ...
DNA tests can guide breast cancer treatment, while also raising questions we can’t yet answer
In a new era of precision medicine, the role of genetics is becoming increasingly critical to determine who might benefit ...
Video: Biohackers take coronavirus vaccine into their own hands
A collective of biohackers has begun circulating a document proposing a plan to create, test, and distribute a vaccine to battle SARS-CoV-2 ...
Can herd immunity—and coronavirus-immunity registries—help us restart the economy?
Coronavirus spreads rapidly. One person typically infects two or three other people, who then infect two or three others and ...
How do you ‘boost’ your body’s immune function in the fight against the coronavirus? Answer: You can’t
The short answer to the question – how do you boost your immune system – is that you can’t. The ...
Losing sense of taste and smell could be ‘early warning sign’ of coronavirus infection
Nearly two weeks ago, Alessandro Laurenzi, a biologist working as a consultant in Bologna, Italy, was mowing the grass in his ...
7 weird facts about how humans see the world
It might be the best-studied of all our senses, but surprises about the way our vision works just keep on ...
Hydroxychloroquine proves ineffective against coronavirus in small Chinese trial
Results from a controlled clinical trial from China on the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19 have shown ...
Video: How COVID-19 attacks a patient’s lungs
CT imaging from George Washington University Hospital shows the effects of Covid-19 on the lungs of a 59-year old man ...
