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.
Genetics of sex get some special attention
Sex is everywhere in nature. Whether it’s a male bird singing to mark his territory or a tiny yeast cell ...
Metabolic map shows how genes control enzymes in each individual
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) scientists have drafted a metabolic map of the human body that shows how ...
Enter the ‘grolar bear’: Warming habitats means chances for inter-species mating
In the last 40 years, the Arctic has warmed by about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, more than twice the overall global ...
What neuroscience can tell us about PTSD and how to rewrite our memories
Fear and memory share many connections in the brain. By understanding that physiology and relationship, neuroscientist Daniela Schiller hopes to ...
To fight aging, second languages and new hobbies may keep brain limber
We all know that exercise helps keep our hearts healthy, but what keeps our brains in top form? Researchers are ...
Newly found mutations keep triglyceride levels low, thwart heart disease despite diet
Two major studies by leading research groups published on Wednesday independently identified mutations in a single gene that protect against ...
Little genetic variation alongside human behavior at fault for passenger pigeon extinction
The passenger pigeon is the poster species for human-caused extinction. From a population of between three and five billion in ...
Children from violent homes show accelerated aging of chromosomes
A new Tulane University School of Medicine study finds that the more fractured families are by domestic violence or trauma, ...
Gene-specific cancer treatment is common, but there are still some kinks
Elaine Mardis and her colleagues first encountered 39-year-old Lucy (not her real name) in 2010 at the Genome Institute at ...
Second mosquito genome targets dengue and yellow fever
Virginia Tech entomologists have developed a chromosome map for about half of the genome of the mosquito Aedes agypti, the ...
Genotyping not better than symptoms for picking stroke medication
Using a patient's genotype to guide the initial dosing of warfarin or its analogues does not appear to be better ...
Free-DNA prenatal screenings greatly reducing use of amniocentesis
A simple blood test is transforming the world of prenatal screening, offering women a risk-free way to learn about fetal ...
Physician age, lack of education a major stumbling block to adopting genetics in practice
Insiders to genomics are looking around and bemoan the lack of forward progress on the clinical side of adoption. Why ...
‘Right to try’ law, for profit stem cells make Colorado wild West of non-FDA clinical trials
Colorado passed a new law supported by the ultra-conservative Goldwater Institute, the so-called Right To Try Law. This law allows ...
Italian stem cell ‘doctor’ selling snake oil to sick kids
A three-year-old Italian boy who suffers from a rare and incurable degenerative disorder called Krabbe disease received a stem cell ...
Chorus of neurons, singing together transfers messages in the brain
When a cartoon character gets an idea, you know it. A lightbulb goes on over Wile E. Coyote’s head, or ...
Children and Hispanics at highest risk for fatty liver disease
Despite major gains in fighting hepatitis C and other chronic liver conditions, public health officials are now faced with a ...
Dad’s dietary folate intake affects fetal health, too
Don’t drink, limit coffee and take your daily vitamins – the laundry list of rules for expectant moms and women ...
Pace of reproductive technology makes health effects hard to measure
Over the past 34 years, assisted reproduction like IVF has gone from exceptional to mainstream. The procedures have changed rapidly, ...
Mexican population has vast genetic diversity
The largest survey of Mexican genetics performed so far reveals tremendous diversity in the country. In some cases, the people ...
Nature vs. nurture: A philosophical accounting
Unfortunately, it is not easy--even in principle--to separate these issues neatly. For example, those who cling to genetic essentialism dismiss ...
Examining families that include genetic donors
There is an increasing tendency to want to explain everything human, from stress, to being gay, or having a zest ...
Female hormone exposure may drive obesity in Western men
An imbalance of female sex hormones among men in Western nations may be contributing to high levels of male obesity, ...
DNA testing may be the only part of forensic science that’s actually scientific
Forensic science -- the wizardry on display on CSI -- is often bunk. Worse, the government has known this for ...
Little Lord Kahn and the edge of genome technology
An infant born earlier this month is the first known child to have his genome sequenced before birth. As more ...
How cells stick together when it’s needed, pull apart when not
When I was nine, biology gave me my first existential crisis. If I am built out of trillions of tiny ...
Mutation rates may explain why plants can live much longer than animals
Scientists can’t offer a simple, straightforward answer to why plants can get so much older than animals. But they have ...
