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.
Drugs used for depression, epilepsy may increase risk of dementia, study shows
Scientists have long found a possible link between anticholinergic drugs and an increased risk of dementia. A study published in ...
Why Donald Trump and other politicians shouldn’t promise a cancer cure
President Trump made a new promise if voters grant him a second term: “We will come up with the cures ...
DNA testing companies launch privacy ‘coalition’ to protect consumer data
Genetic testing companies are forming a new coalition on best practices for handling DNA information and to promote the industry ...
Human brains are drawn to the sound of music
In the eternal search for understanding what makes us human, scientists found that our brains are more sensitive to pitch, ...
Can you become addicted to pot? This gene increases your risk.
Danish researchers have for the first time identified a gene that increases the risk for cannabis use disorder. About 10 ...
Why we can’t do anything about a Russian scientist’s plans to create more CRISPR babies
Two influential leaders in science for the first time publicly condemned a Russian biologist who said he plans to produce ...
Controversial new drug meant to increase sexual desire in women is approved for sale
The Food and Drug Administration approved a controversial drug meant to increase women’s desire for sex, a treatment that has ...
Facing Ebola outbreak, Uganda approves 3 experimental treatments
Health authorities in Uganda have approved the use of three experimental treatments against Ebola in the country. The decision comes ...
Why scientists are hesitant to declare a species extinct
If so many species are going extinct, why don’t we hear about new extinctions every day? The answer to that ...
Surgically implanted chips could boost memory for people with traumatic brain injuries
Over the past five years, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has invested $77 million to develop devices ...
Startup wants to combine DNA, machine learning for earlier autism diagnosis
Probably Genetic, which recently graduated from the startup accelerator Y Combinator, wants to test the DNA of children with autism ...
Viewpoint: No, cell phones aren’t causing people to grow horns
You might have heard recently, from publications like the Washington Post, NBC, and of course, Newsweek, that some people are ...
Recently discovered Salmonella strain could render some infections ‘simply untreatable’
Scientists at North Carolina State University say they’ve discovered disease-causing Salmonella bacteria in the U.S. that can resist one of ...
Microsleep: What happens to our brains when we’re both awake and asleep?
During microsleep, parts of the brain go offline for a few seconds while the rest of the brain stays awake ...
These drugs could replace chemotherapy with fewer ‘disruptive side effects’
A class of drugs is emerging that can attack cancer cells in the body without damaging surrounding healthy ones. They ...
Growing criticism over stratospheric cost of spinal muscular atrophy-fighting drug Zolgensma ignores trade-off value
Novartis recently won FDA approval for Zolgensma, a new medicine that can potentially cure infants suffering from the otherwise fatal ...
Electrical ‘brain ripples’ could boost memory for the elderly, Alzheimer’s patients
Specific patterns of brain activity are thought to underlie specific processes or computations important for various mental faculties, such as ...
Scammers set sights on booming genetic testing market
The cost of genetic testing for disease assessment can be as high as $10,000. With that kind of money in ...
Cell phones may be causing horns to grow on our skulls
Mobile technology has transformed the way we live — how we read, work, communicate, shop and date. But we already ...
Viewpoint: ‘Astrology-style answers’ show the darker side of consumer genetic tests
[T]he same thing that drives some people toward astrology drives others toward mail-in test kits: People want to learn more ...
3D printed corneas could lead to transplants
Research led by Florida A&M University Pharmaceutics Professor Mandip Sachdeva has resulted in the creation of the first high throughput ...
Infographic: World cancer deaths have been declining steadily since the early 1990s
Read full, original post: Total deaths from cancer per 100,000 people, 1990-2016 ...
Are people with ADHD really more creative than the rest of us?
Those affected by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are clinically thought of as inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive. However, people with ...
Biohacker Josiah Zayner meets with California regulators investigating him: ‘It was surreal’
A few weeks ago, the prominent biohacker Josiah Zayner took to Instagram to break some news: He had received a ...
New diagnostic weapon: Genetic tests can also detect infectious disease
Doctors routinely use genetic tests to spot inherited diseases and guide cancer treatment. But using them to detect infectious diseases ...
Viewpoint: We don’t need another study to convince us that gene-edited babies are a bad idea
He [Jiankui] attempted to disable a gene called CCR5 by producing a variant that has been shown to confer resistance ...
3 ‘biomarkers’ linked to male sexual orientation in study
The search for the “gay gene” is rooted in a fraught question: Does homosexuality have a biological basis? The reasons ...
GPS keeps you from getting lost. It also may be ruining your brain.
When people are told which way to turn, it relieves them of the need to create their own routes and ...
