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.
Traces of Neanderthal DNA in human genes suggest complex ancestry
The following is an excerpt. Thirty years ago, anthropologists were divided into two camps: Those who believed that humans had ...
Researchers find gene for underarm odor
The following is an excerpt. Ah, the sweet smell of science: An English study published Monday confirms a link between ...
Far-fetched ethical questions that are about to get real
Science fiction's favorite moral quandaries are suddenly pressing concerns ...
Japan reconsiders chimeric experiments
Japan is considering relaxing restrictions on the production of chimeric animals for sake of trying to grow viable human organs ...
Scientists identify evolutionarily important human gene switches
The following is an excerpt. Chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to humans, and researchers continue to hunt for clues ...
Japan to relax ban on chimeric embryo experiments
The following is an edited excerpt. A scientist pioneering research toward generating human organs in pigs has cleared one hurdle ...
What researchers learn by investigating species’ genomes
The following is an editorial summary. When researchers sequence, map, and decode the genomes of other species, they often find ...
Researchers unravel core algae genes
The following is an excerpt. A international team of scientists led by California State University San Marcos has sequenced the ...
Potential genetic drivers behind male heart disease risk
The following is an edited excerpt. A team of researchers including clinicians and scientists have made an important step forward ...
Unexpectedly genetically jewish
The following is an editorial summary. Anthropologist Sandra Lee, a senior research scholar at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, ...
Using genetics to breed better Wagyu beef
The following is an edited excerpt. The rate of genetic gain in Wagyu cattle is set to climb rapidly over ...
Takeaways from last week’s gene patenting decision
The following is an edited excerpt. The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling that bans the patenting of naturally occurring ...
Aspirin slows DNA mutations in pre-cancerous conditions
The following is an excerpt. Researchers analyzed biopsy samples from 13 patients with a pre-cancerous condition known as Barrett’s esophagus, who ...
Gene research may help spot infant obesity risk
The following is an excerpt. Researchers have identified 45 genetic genetic variants in overweight newborns that are known to occur ...
The present and future of neurogenomics
The following is an edited excerpt. On April 2nd, 2013, President Obama proposed a forward-thinking, $100 million research program designed ...
Be prepared for the big genome leak
The number of genomes in research databases is growing -- how long will it be before that information gets out? ...
The perils of neurocentrism
The issue with fMRI and other neuroscience techniques is "neurocentrism" -- "the view that human experience and behavior can be ...
Poking holes in genetic privacy
The following is an excerpt. Not so long ago, people who provided DNA in the course of research studies were ...
Albino gorilla inbred, according to genome
The following is an excerpt. Snowflake was a male Western lowland gorilla. He was born in the wild and captured ...
Supreme Court invalidates some gene patents but biotech has moved on
The following is an edited excerpt. The U.S. Supreme Court decision on June 13, 2013 to uphold patent protections for ...
Reanalysis of cancer genome data weeds out false positives
The following is an excerpt. Some call them the ‘fishy genes’: errors in DNA that seem to be associated with ...
Is genetic testing worth the money?
The following is an edited excerpt. Ten years ago, you could take a test to find genetic links for about ...
Using the human genome to ID viruses
The following is an edited excerpt. Sometimes a concept is simple but the tech behind it is not. This is ...
Faroe Islands aim to sequence genes of entire country
The Health Ministry of the Faroe Islands plans to sequence the genomes of every interested citizen ...
Q&A: David Altshuler on how to share millions of human genomes
The following is an edited excerpt. To fully understand the role of human genetic variation and its role in disease, ...
Gene mutation makes cyclist unable to store fat under his skin
The following is an excerpt. Baffled doctors are nothing new to 23-year-old budding Paralympic cyclist Tom Staniford, from Exeter. He has ...
Q&A: David Altshuler on how to share millions of human genomes
The following is an edited excerpt. To fully understand the role of human genetic variation and its role in disease, ...
