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.
Do our genes determine which faces are ‘prettier’ than others?
Despite the importance humans and society appear to place on beauty, from a scientific perspective, we don't actually know a ...
Gene therapy could be revolutionary—if we can figure out how to pay for it
Dozens of revolutionary gene therapies that mend faulty strands of DNA are on their way, bringing the power to eliminate ...
Cancer has a male bias and we’re just starting to understand why
More than half of neurooncologist Josh Rubin’s pediatric brain cancer patients over his 25-year career have been boys. … About a ...
Viewpoint: What it means for the world to have a collective IQ of 82
David Becker has released a new version of the World’s IQ. Each country has a score showing the cognitive abilities ...
CDC says autism is on the rise—and why it may be worse than we think
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new report on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ... offers little good news. It ...
Restoration of brain activity in dead pigs could lead to new treatments for stroke, drug overdose
Scientists restored some activity within the brains of pigs that had been slaughtered hours before, raising hopes for some medical ...
3-parent baby sparks backlash after doctors use experimental procedure as a fertility treatment
A baby with DNA from three people has been born in Greece following a controversial fertility treatment. The baby boy, weighing 2.9kg ...
‘Crystal ball’ for disease? Genetic tests could predict risk of Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer
If a crystal ball could reveal your personal risk for developing heart disease or breast cancer or Alzheimer's disease, would ...
Electrical brain zaps show promise at improving memory in older adults
Shooting electrical current into the brain for just 25 minutes reversed the decline in working memory that comes with aging, ...
Longevity science: Pioneer biotech startup wants to slow aging at ‘the cellular level’
What sets [Harvard geneticist David] Sinclair apart from many of his colleagues...is his willingness to test his work on himself ...
Meet 5 RNA ‘movers and shakers’ including one that may protect against Alzheimer’s
RNAs, composed of strings of genetic letters called nucleotides, are best known for ferrying instructions from the genes in our ...
3 promising CRISPR therapies, including one targeting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
With dozens of efforts in the making, from premature aging to obesity and developmental brain disorders, here are the frontrunners ...
Can your sex partner alter your microbiome, immune system?
People’s sexual partners could impact both their gut microbiome and their immune system, according to a new study from the University of ...
Glimpse into enslaved woman’s life offered by DNA found in clay pipe at Maryland plantation
Clay pipes used for smoking were so common in the 1700s and 1800s that it’s not very remarkable to find ...
Is the spirit of adventure encoded in our genes?
There’s one particular behavioral question that unites many animal species: “Should I explore the wider environment or exploit my current environment?” … ...
Using synthetics to design cells with new abilities ‘such as pumping out life-saving drugs’
A German team headed by Dr. Edward Lemke at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory described an entirely synthetic organelle inside living cells ...
Monitoring biodiversity: Project seeks to catalog arctic life through ‘DNA Barcoding’
[Molecular biologist Inger Greye] Alsos is currently taking part in the formidable task of genetically identifying not just all the ...
Infographic: 5-year US cancer survival rates are on the rise
Despite increasing global cancer deaths, cancer death rates across many types have been falling. This is partly attributed to earlier ...
Why a mysterious fungus could herald a dangerous era in drug-resistant infections
A fungus called Candida auris preys on people with weakened immune systems, and it is quietly spreading across the globe ...
‘Only child’ no more: DNA test reveals woman has at least 29 brothers and sisters
For Shauna Harrison, her journey from only child to a sister with 29 siblings started with a revisit to her 23andme ...
First 3D heart printed with human tissue could mark key step toward transplantable organs
Scientists in Israel unveiled a 3D print of a heart with human tissue and vessels on Monday [April 15, 2019], ...
Why esketamine will force doctors to rethink office visits for depressed patients
The Food and Drug Administration approved esketamine (Spravato) for treatment-resistant depression to be administered under physician supervision. It’s a derivative of ...
Virtual reality helps autistic children tackle phobias
One tool that is being embraced by therapists, counselors, teachers, parents and their children to help those with autism to better ...
How the evolution of our ability to run marathons ‘made us human’
Let’s call it the “running made us human” hypothesis: According to some scientists, distance running was key to our ancestors’ ...
Can light-activated CRISPR lead to new treatments for cancer, diabetes?
Engineers are making their mark on biotech’s hottest commodity. Chinese scientists [April 3] reported that they can control the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 with ...
Is one genetic mutation responsible for human endurance?
Studies suggest that a mutation caused humans to lose function of the CMAH gene two to three million years ago—around ...
Testing human intelligence by putting our brain genes in monkeys
Human intelligence is one of evolution’s most consequential inventions. It is the result of a sprint that started millions of ...
Philippines cave yields mysterious new human ancestor: Homo luzonensis
Ancient bones and teeth found in Callao Cave in the Philippines have led to the discovery of a previously unknown ...
