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.
Pioneering stem cell treatment may help patients with spinal-cord injury
A company that stepped in to salvage the first-ever medical use of human embryonic stem cells says it has encouraging ...
Why is there no depression gene?
Depression is sometimes categorized as a mental, rather than a physical illness...[but d]epression does run in families, which could mean ...
Scientists closing in on identifying genetics of success in school
For decades, we’ve known from twin studies that psychological traits like intelligence and personality are influenced by genes...But what twin ...
Future without women? ‘Pseudo-embryos’ could one day replace eggs in baby making process
Scientists say early experiments suggest it may one day be possible to make babies without using eggs. They have succeeded ...
Texas researchers plan to create national obesity genome registry
Texas has one of the highest obesity rates in the nation...Now, San Antonio researchers are using South Texas volunteers to ...
Gene doping in sports entails challenges and dangers but may not be so dopey
Athletes experimenting with gene doping may not be ethical, but it could lead to potential treatments of human disease ...
Genes for Antisocial Personality Disorder may lie at heart of crime
[T]here's no easy answer to the question of why some people end up in jails and prisons while others do not ...
DARPA wants to add new restrictions on gene editing over national security concerns
The United States Department of Defense is increasingly concerned about the potential threat of gene editing and modifying entire populations ...
Will evolution eventually undo effects on ecosystem of gene drives?
[A]t New York’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory[,] Philipp Messer...took the stage to discuss a powerful and controversial new application for genetic ...
Video: Scientists film bacteria evolving antibiotic resistance in real time
Ever since the invention of antibiotics, we have been fighting an escalating arms race against bacteria for several decades. Michael ...
Study linking gene mutation with multiple sclerosis faces brutal criticism
Scientists are forcefully challenging a recent study that claimed to identify a rare genetic mutation that sharply boosted the risk ...
Gene sequencing delivers relief to patients searching endlessly for answers
Now more affordable than ever, [gene sequencing] is making headway in diagnosing rare diseases, giving patients answers to medical mysteries ...
Should Hawaii use GM mosquitoes to save its endangered birds?
The 2016 [World Conservation Congress] has been held in Hawaii, which is fitting, since the state is often referred to ...
FDA may shut down stem cell clinics just when research starting to show promise
Scientists on [Sept. 12] will urge the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on rogue clinics across the country ...
People with disabilities deserve voice in debate over using CRISPR on humans
[CRISPR has] been getting plenty of press. And yet, as someone who tries to stay up to date constantly with ...
Neurons have surprising amount of genomic diversity
Our brains contain a surprising diversity of DNA. Even though we are taught that every cell in our body has ...
Should FDA crack down on stem cell clinics?
Stem cell clinics operating in the U.S. market cures for nearly every kind of disorder without evidence they work or ...
How will we use gene editing to treat human disease?
Technology for safe effective germline editing is not ready yet, but once it is, these are some of things we ...
MIND Institute aims to conduct massive study on genetics of autism
Researchers at the MIND Institute are now examining the DNA of families whose children have autism to learn more about ...
Video: CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna gives her thoughts on future of gene editing
For the past several years, CRISPR has made headlines all over the world as a revolutionary, biotechnological tool. Now, UC ...
Gene editing raises concerns about furthering divide between rich and poor
Scientists are pioneering the ability to tweak our DNA to wipe out disease and maybe even allow us to choose ...
US regulations creating confusion for regulation of GMO mosquitos
The number of [Zika] cases in the United States is continuing to increase, as are the known modes of transmission...One ...
Nationwide survey indicates American’s enthusiasm for precision medicine
When precision medicine ended my 23-year struggle with kidney cancer, I made it my mission to make individualized health care ...
Creation of first synthetic genome may lead us closer to superhumans
[G]eneticists are now getting ever closer to, not just removing and replacing genes, but rewriting entire genomes...[G]eneticists at Harvard recently ...
Does low IQ correlate with prejudicial thinking?
There's a long-standing and somewhat uncomfortable finding in psychology: that low IQ, conservative social beliefs and prejudice — including anti-gay ...
Looking back on how science has progressed in sexuality and gender
For complex, complicated questions concerning the nature of human sexuality, there exists at best provisional scientific consensus; much remains unknown, ...
Pharmaceutical giant Novartis shuts down its gene therapy research
Healthcare company Novartis has either fired or reassigned roughly 400 researchers previously tasked with developing cell and gene therapies. While ...
