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.
The myth of three and other common neuromyths debunked
When the movie Lucy was released in the summer of 2014, it was quickly followed by a flurry of attention ...
Corneal stem cell research rapidly translated to the clinic shows promise
In Hyderabad, India, Sayan Basu is using stem cells in a pilot project to restore the eyesight of patients with ...
Viruses that make us smarter? Not really
News reports about viral gene fragments in the human genome making us smarter exagerate claims made by the research study ...
Can Silicon Valley ‘fix’ the aging problem?
In Palo Alto in the heart of Silicon Valley, hedge fund manager Joon Yun is doing a back-of-the-envelope calculation. According ...
Questioning the hype around oxytocin, the ‘hug hormone’
A new study offers two reasons to be cautious about some of the claims made for the role of the ...
Gene behind aggressive form of breast cancer identified
Scientists have identified the gene behind one of most aggressive forms of breast cancer in a breakthrough which could bring ...
Will doctors prescribe the first approved US copycat biological drug?
A group of FDA advisers unanimously recommended approval for Novartis' knockoff of a blockbuster Amgen treatment, clearing the way for what ...
As cases decline, experts stress urgency of Ebola vaccine clinical trials in West Africa
As authorities and drug companies hurriedly prepare to begin testing Ebola vaccines in West Africa, they are starting to contemplate ...
Apple juice may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease
Emerging evidence suggests nutrition plays a more critical role in neurodegeneration than originally thought. As little as two glasses of ...
Is there a method to the chaos of evolution?
Is the natural world creative? Just take a look around it. Look at the brilliant plumage of tropical birds, the ...
Custom DNA advocate rejects regulation of synthetic biology
Austen Heinz of Cambrian Genomics has been trolling hard lately, as blogger Josh Cunningham notes. That is, he's been spouting ...
Dogs tell story of ancient human migration
Dogs successfully migrated to the Americas about 10,000 years ago, according to a new study. That's a long time ago ...
New bioengineering technique makes bacteria produce chemicals quicker and more efficiently
Genetically engineered bacteria already produce some products of commercial interest or biomedical importance, such as insulin. And coaxing the organisms to ...
Reaching beyond Darwinian evolution to explain the diversity of life
Is the natural world creative? Just take a look around it. Look at the brilliant plumage of tropical birds, the ...
Does a whale’s genome hold the secret to longevity?
In a search for genes that fight off aging, researchers have now charted the bowhead whale genome. Bowheads are filter ...
Are genetic databases and medical confidentiality compatible?
Personalized medicine, the hoped-for use of the information in our genes to inform our medical care, may end up helping ...
Is obesity rooted in your genes? Not exactly
In what seems to be another piece of evidence in favor of genes being impacted in differential ways over time ...
3D map of human genome reveals ‘origami’ gene regulation
In a triumph for cell biology, researchers have assembled the first high-resolution, 3D maps of entire folded genomes and found ...
How the bioengineered uterus is transforming surrogacy and childbirth
When I suffered my third consecutive miscarriage this past May, my mom said she wanted to help me out however ...
Unusual reproduction of nematodes may illuminate sexual evolution in animals
The vinegar worm (officially known as Caenorhabditis elegans) is about as simple as an animal can be. When this soil-dwelling ...
“Green” neuroscience scientists say time to revise research protocols
Ann Lam delicately places a laboratory slide holding a slice of brain from a living human onto a small platform ...
New antibiotic thwarts bacterial resistance
The British chemist Lesley Orgel had a rule: Evolution is cleverer than you. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have repeatedly proven him right. Since ...
Potential obesity drug acts as a meal in a pill
A drug that works like an “imaginary meal” has been developed by US scientists who believe it could help combat ...
Can we yet use genetics to determine which sports are best for our kids?
Can you choose sport based on your biology, or better yet a sport that might be good for your kids? ...
IQ is mostly inherited, new research suggests
How smart you are doesn’t depend on how your parents raised you, a new study concludes. Their reading to you, ...
Cyclists test healthier, physically younger than average
A study of fit amateur cyclists aged 55 to 79 found that many were physically and biologically much younger than ...
‘Abominable Snowman’ hairs match DNA of ancient polar bear
Last year, Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes revealed the results of DNA tests on hairs said to be from ...
