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.
On penises and vaginas: Why maleness always wins the headlines
Biology's sexism isn't overt, but researchers and media can't help but propagate the war of the sexes and the importance ...
Culture wars threaten synthetic biology’s future: Debate on open source versus closed door
Synbio will soon be weathering legal and ethical challenges as its advances enter people's everyday lives. In order to mature, ...
Artist brings our paleolithic ancestors to life
A smiling 3.2-million-year-old face greets visitors to the anthropology hall of the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico ...
Mom’s genes and environment affect gender of kids
Families are especially complex: Cause and effect are hard to disentangle in the bubbling cauldron that is a household. There ...
Antibiotic resistance now major threat to public health
The Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico is a network of chambers stretching 1,600 feet underground. The bacteria that grow on ...
New Tyrannosaurus was smaller, more graceful cousin of T.Rex
We have found a lost cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex, and it was a far more graceful creature than its more ...
DNA alphabet expanded, opens up new possibilities for synthetic drugs
Way back in Biology 101, we learned that DNA is encoded through the nucleotide pairings of adenine to thymine and ...
Further evidence stem cells injected into heart don’t grow new cardiac muscle
C-kit cells, which are found in the heart and supposedly act as cardiac stem cells, are the basis of a ...
DNA-destorying spray marketed, will criminals purchase?
Everywhere you go you run the risk of leaving traces of your DNA behind – from fingerprints, to skin, hair ...
Genes guide brain’s response to stress
It is probably cliché at this point to mention that the world seems to be getting crazier/faster/more stressful. Stress can ...
Atomic mechanism for how DNA-protective telomerase is made may be target for aging therapies
Researchers have taken an atomic level look at the enzyme telomerase - and what they have found may unlock the ...
Are modern Jews descendants of converts from the extinct kingdom of Khazaria or ancient Israel?
Some studies have suggested that most Jews do not trace their ancestry to ancient Israel but are converts--descendants of the ...
Environment, genes equally at play in autism
Environmental factors are more important than previously thought in leading to autism, as big a factor as genes, according to ...
Genetic and maternal factors play larger role in neonatal brain injuries, long blamed on lack of oxygen during birth
It was long assumed that brain injuries in newborns resulted from insufficient oxygen during labor or delivery. Distressed parents often ...
Antibiotic resistance biggest issue in developing world because of lack of regulation
By most standards, the increasing availability of life-saving antibiotics in the developing world is a good thing. But, around the ...
Genetic sequencing offers promise of individualized medicine, but at what cost?
Whole genome sequencing has officially entered the medical mainstream and kicked off an era of truly personalized medicine. California-based Illumina ...
Nicholas Wade on race: Genes and evolution trump culture in shaping human differences
No subject is more taboo than race. New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade takes on the nature-nurture debate in ...
Breeding heat-resistant livestock for a post-warming world: A worthy endeavor?
Evan Halper at the LA Times chronicles efforts to breed livestock that can endure a warming world ... but should ...
Pace of biomedical research not sustainable without funding changes
In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), four distinguished scientists make an urgent ...
Leukemia type can be detected by the shape of DNA’s packaging in nucleus
When someone has leukaemia, differences in how their genome is folded up into the nucleus of their cells can reveal ...
Stem cells can cure severe heart disease? Study suggests early reports may be oversold
A slew of positive reports showing that stem cells could be used to address severe heart disease are in question ...
Insects pass infections to their progency through sperm and eggs
The green rice leafhopper is never alone. When a female’s egg and a male’s sperm fuse into a new cell, ...
Sperm from skin cells have potential for male infertility treatment
Around 7.5 percent of men in the U.S. visit a fertility doctor at some point in their life, according to ...
Genes of benefit for athletic training response identified
There has long been a debate among doctors, scientists and psychologists about whether nature or nurture is more important in ...
Genetics make some people more vulnerable to repetitive brain injury
Scientists studying head injuries have found something surprising: Genes may make some people more susceptible to concussion and trauma than ...
Ancient, inert parts of our genomes may be protective
At hundreds of spots in our DNA, there are ancient swaths that have remained puzzlingly unchanged over hundreds of millions ...
Genetically modified pig lungs or lab-grown lungs: Which is the future of our organ supply?
Biotech pioneer J. Craig Venter has aligned his company with efforts to create genetically modified lungs in pigs for human ...
