Daily Human Digest
MAOA and CDH13 genes linked to violent crime, but can they explain criminal behavior?
A study published in Molecular Psychiatry has found a link between two specific genes and a person's propensity to commit a ...
DNA-based electrical circuits might serve as basis for computers, detect genetic disorders
A new technology may soon be born at the intersection of genetics and computer science. An international team of scientists ...
Chimps’ feeding behavior reveals evolutionary history of intellectual development
Food reveals a lot about species' evolutionary past. Organisms are constantly adapting in response to what kind and how much ...
When you take your drugs might matter as much as what you’re taking
Circadian clock genes help align our bodies with our planet's 24 hour light-dark cycle. Misalignment of circadian rhythms has been ...
Receptor for DEET that repels mosquitoes discovered
More than 200 million people worldwide use DEET, developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and patented by ...
Computing with DNA
DNA is exceptionally information dense. In nature it is used to encode the instructions for making living organisms, but people ...
Mars bars for brain health? Not so fast
A widely publicized study showed that a component in chocolate may have protective anti-aging effects for the brain. But based ...
Hydrocooling helps sweet cherries survive the long haul
People like their sweet cherries sweet but getting them from place to place in the modern world isn't without challenges ...
College student alert: Beer improves cognitive function
Flavonoids are versatile plant metabolites found in many plants - including hops, and therefore beer. A new study in Behavioral Brain Research found ...
Nutrigenomics could lead personalized medicine revolution
"Nutrigenomics has the potential to be the next big thing in our fight against lifestyle-linked diseases, says Professor Lynn Frewer, Professor ...
‘Hobbit species’ continues to provoke questions about course of human evolution
In 2003, researchers excavating a limestone cave on the remote Indonesian island of Flores made an extraordinary discovery: the 18,000-year-old ...
Bioethics consulting services provide valuable oversight for researchers
When scientists run into ethical dilemmas in their research, they typically turn to institutional review boards (IRBs) for advice. Increasingly, ...
How scientists investigate the brain’s internal navigation system
“Can you point to Center City?” neuroscientist Russell Epstein likes to ask visitors to his office at the University of ...
Can evolution can be explained by genes alone?
Charles Darwin conceived of evolution by natural selection without knowing that genes exist. Now mainstream evolutionary theory has come to ...
Organic activists reject science, propose ‘natural’ Ebola cure, claim government conspiracy
As often happens in times of medical crises, fringe groups come out from hiding--in this instance, organic activists in the ...
Does no-till agriculture boost global crop yields?
No-till farming is considered a key conservation agriculture strategy because it avoids conventional plowing and farming practices. It has been ...
Genetic secret that attracts females (fruit flies to humans?)
A new study has found that female fruit flies don't simply choose a mate based on things like wing colors. They look ...
Cancer genetics: YEATS protein as target for cancer
The human body has an unprecedented capacity to move genetic material from place to place, including a packaging and delivery system ...
Genomes show early contact between Easter Island and the Americas
The Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen may not have arrived on Easter Island until 1722 but new genomic evidence finds that the Rapanui people living there ...
Genetic variant helped in the Arctic, but now makes us fat
Researchers have discovered a genetic variant that arose thousands of years ago in people living in the Arctic. It helped them then, ...
Promising Ebola drugs trapped in a ‘biotech valley of death’
The news that yet another American, New York City physician Craig Spencer, has tested positive for Ebola has stoked an ...
Is egg freezing a smart move for companies and employees?
The announcement that Apple and Facebook will start offering female employees a $20,000 benefit to freeze their eggs and delay childbirth has ...
Do ‘brain games’ live up to their hype?
Some neuroscientists are speaking out against "brain games," computer-based games that purportedly improve memory and cognitive functioning, and even claim to ...
Before sperm meets egg
In high school biology, we all learned that development of a new organism is a complex endeavor ...
How the human immune system resets after Staph infection
When pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella or Staphylococcus invade our bodies, we go into a state of high alert and alter ...
Genetics of congenital heart defects in Down syndrome
In Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal abnormality in humans, a third copy of all or part of chromosome 21 is ...
Gluten-free fad food choice, rarely medically dictated
Millions of people have lately adopted a gluten-free diet by self-diagnosing with gluten sensitivities in spite of the fact there ...