Daily Human Digest
How viruses insert themselves into our DNA
Each year, billions of people get infected with viruses–with common ones like influenza and cold viruses, and rarer ones like ...
Neurological impact of premature birth starting to become known
Thanks to medical advances since the 1970s, premature infants — those born before 37 weeks of gestation — are increasingly ...
Giant squid may not be as gigantic as you think
Does size matter? It does to 6'3" scientist Craig McClain, of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina. His ...
United Kingdom first to approve “3-person IVF babies”
The UK is now set to become the first country to introduce laws to allow the creation of babies from ...
Motion sickness? Genes might be to blame
Breathe deep and look at the horizon. It’s the sagely advice many of us have heard who experience motion sickness, ...
Growing privacy concerns over California DNA collection
Privacy advocates are calling for more safeguards related to a state collection of DNA samples from 16 million Californians in ...
Can GMOs save the fragile coral reef ecosystem?
The controversial practice of "environmental engineering" should be adopted in the battle to save the world's coral reefs from the ...
Kit creates accurate model of face from DNA sample
This winter, a biotechnology company began offering a whole new service to police departments. Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs' Snapshot service allows ...
Circadian desynchrony: Can obesity be treated with electricity?
Could a key factor in the obesity epidemic be attributed to the disruption of our metabolic functions (which are intended ...
Jurassic World: Can cloning revive extinct species, protect endangered ones?
DNA can remain stable in bones for millions of years. Can it be mined to resurrect long-dead velociraptors? Woolly mammoths? ...
Epigenetic markers predict mortality better than biological age
Chemical changes to DNA that accumulate over a lifetime amount to a kind of biological clock. By analyzing these changes, ...
Paralysis-causing virus proving difficult to identify
Since August 2014, more than 100 children and young adults in the United States have developed a mysterious paralysis. Many ...
Finding a happy medium in regulation of stem cell research
When I started blogging in 2010 the stem cell arena was a very different place. Back then the hot topic ...
History of primate evolution written in viral DNA
Throughout our evolution, viruses have infected an egg or sperm, incorporated themselves into the genetic code and passed on to ...
Breakthrough in breast cancer research reveals epigenetic link
Decoding the letters of the human genome revolutionised scientists' understanding of the role of genetic mutations in many diseases, including ...
Sometimes, evolution comes with negative side effects
From rashes to irritable bowels, people today face certain health challenges because our ancestors evolved the genetic variations associated with ...
With House of Commons decision looming, what are researchers’ opinions on mitochondrial replacement?
On February 3, 2015, the House of Commons will be given the opportunity to approve a remarkable scientific technique: mitochondrial ...
What does Obama’s precision medicine initiative mean for future medical research?
The precision medicine initiative proposed by President Barack Obama last week would center on a huge new biobank containing medical ...
For hypersomniacs, no amount of sleep is enough
For most teenagers, getting out of bed in the morning is a drag. But when Lloyd Johnson was 13 years ...
Why ‘precision medicine” initiative will fall short of hype
President Obama's new budget is expected to include hundreds of millions of dollars for so-called precision medicine. The initiative, which ...
Play struggles to capture questions of neuroscience and human nature
In the first scene of Tom Stoppard’s new play The Hard Problem, the charming but arrogant neuroscientist is arguing with ...
Conventional beliefs about unconscious thought may be overblown
If you have to make a complex decision, will you do a better job if you absorb yourself in, say, ...
Why did most mammals stop laying eggs?
About a decade ago, Vincent Lynch emailed Frank Grutzner to ask for a tissue sample from a pregnant platypus. He ...
Sights set on CRISPR as potential tool in treating genetic diseases
Astra Zeneca has announced a research programme to develop a generation of medicines to treat the genetic causes of many ...
Political views dictate what science issues receive the most attention
In American scientization of politics culture, evolution acceptance is a big deal, as is climate change. Yet other science acceptance ...
Neuroscience needs to globalize focus on mental health
Neuroscience holds the key to understanding the brain – and to developing more effective treatments for people with mental health ...
Does the air you breathe alter your DNA?
Breathing nasty urban pollution does more than clog up your lungs — it actually messes with your genes. This disturbing ...