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.
Phenol exposure during pregnancy may affect boy’s fetal growth
A research consortium has just published an epidemiological study indicating that exposure to certain phenols during pregnancy, especially parabens and ...
Human ‘angry face’ knows no cultural divide, rooted in DNA
In the U.S., the thumbs-up is typically a gesture that everything’s just hunky-dory—but in the Middle East, it implies that ...
Is “reductionism” in behavioral genetics a boon or curse?
Reductionism haunts modern genetics, but how has this approach — akin to taking apart a watch to see how it ...
Genetic short cuts: Horizontal gene transfer
Some plants rely on specialized bacterial backup to help them synthesize nutrients. Instead of evolving these traits over and over ...
DNA-based stool test now available for colon cancers
Exact Sciences Corp. recently announced that Mayo Clinic will be the first health system to offer Cologuard®, the first and ...
Deconstructing the polarizing debate over ‘3-parent babies’
On most issues, the public debate follows a normal distribution curve, with the majority in the 'muddled middle'. That's not ...
Spanish longevity genes linked to cholesterol metabolism
Hold the butter! The genetic secrets of centenarians are starting to be unravelled – and they hint that low cholesterol ...
After transplant, nasal cartilage acts like a knee, even down to the genes
If you need a new knee, look no further than the end of your nose. It turns out that nasal ...
Scientists create bacteria that excrete propane
Propane, the gas that fuels your barbecue (and perhaps one day your car), may soon have a new, renewable source ...
Tibetans’ genetic mutations help them survive at extreme altitude
When you hear the word “mutation,” you may think of something destructive, or of Marvel’s X-Men. But some mutations—which are ...
Ebola epidemic quickens
The cost of getting supplies needed to West African countries to get the Ebola crisis under control will be at ...
Gibraltar engravings may prove Neanderthals more culturally sophisticated than thought
One of the longest-running, most fervent debates in the history of human evolution research concerns the cognitive abilities of the ...
Humans’ love for simple stories and status quo make opinions intractable in face of fact
Popular opinions about complex issues in science and technology are often held to even when facts and experts are presented ...
Cystic Fibrosis is a simple genetic puzzle, but finding a cure remains difficult
On the face of it, CF is a perfect candidate for gene therapy. It’s literally a textbook genetic disease – ...
Humans colonize their homes with microbes, not the other way around
Microbes are everywhere. They live on and inside us, and cover most things we come into contact with, including our ...
NIH genomics researchers to share data and clarify informed consent
Scientists who work on genomics and are funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) must post their data ...
Chimps beat humans at some games: Are aggressive genetics at play?
We humans assume we are the smartest of all creations. In a world with over 8.7 million species, only we ...
Winning rape conviction, woman loses privacy and control over her DNA
As Maryland's highest court upheld a rape conviction based on DNA collected from the arm of a police station chair, a veteran ...
Genetic causes of glaucoma identified
Researchers have discovered six specific genetic variations that may be linked to glaucoma. Findings published in the journal Nature Genetics ...
Parasite practices genetic mind control to spread infection
Toxoplasma gondii, the parasitic infection that may infect almost half the worlds human population uses some special trick to control ...
Richard Dawkins’ moral policing aside, new era of fetal diagnostics underway
What would you do if you were pregnant with a fetus affected by a severe disorder? Abortion is often the ...
British girl explains life as child of three-parent IVF
Alana Saarinen loves playing golf and the piano, listening to music and hanging out with friends. In those respects, she's ...
Another report of parent refusing child with genetic problem born by surrogate
A British surrogate mother of twins has said the intended mother rejected one of the babies because she was born ...
When the media hypes epigenetics, mothers take the blame
There's a lot of talk about epigenetics in the news, but scientists still don't know what it all means. A ...
California stem cell industry reviving
Almost three years after a Bay Area company shut down the world's first clinical trial of a therapy using embryonic ...
Could genetic testing make having a disabled child immoral?
The summer's "ice bucket challenge" has brought an extraordinary amount of attention to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease ...
Nap and coffee combo clears neurotransmitters so buzz more effective
It might sound crazy: conventional wisdom is that caffeine interferes with sleep. But if you caffeinate immediately before napping and sleep for ...
