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.
Lamark redux: Is epigenetics rewriting his legacy?
Evolutionary biologist Josh Mitteldorf looks back on the discredited scientist's views of evolution in light of our new knowledge of ...
DNA test for cervical cancer gets FDA approval
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first alternative to the long-used Pap test as a primary screening ...
Smithsonian exhibit releases online animated visualizaton of human genome
Using disarmingly simple animations of 2-D people, animals, and molecules, Sanan transmits more information about DNA and the human genome ...
DNA confirms artifact is not match for Louis XVI
Two centuries after the French people beheaded King Louis XVI and dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, DNA analysis has ...
Building a genomic encyclopedia of life
A genomic tree-of-life is the taxonomist's dream: a perfectly organized, annotated database of every species on earth, its genetics, and ...
Influence of genes on body mass grows with age in kids
The influence of genetic factors on differences between children's Body Mass Index (BMI) increases from 43% at age 4 to ...
Mind uploading won’t work becaues consciousness can’t be transferred
Uploading one's mind into a computer, a concept popularized by the 2014 movie Transcendence starring Johnny Depp, is likely to ...
Rare Turkish neurodegenerative disorder caused by a single mutation
International teams of researchers using advanced gene sequencing technology have uncovered a single genetic mutation responsible for a rare brain ...
Tsetse fly genome decoded, may offer target for sleeping sickness prevention and therapies
Public-health workers are one step closer to stamping out a debilitating and potentially fatal disease known as sleeping sickness following ...
Genetic advantage may be why farming societies displaced hunter-gatherers
How did farming take over the world? One theory is that farming was such an evidently good idea that it ...
Neanderthal epigenetics probably not a great target for autism research
Sensationalized headline used keywords of autism and Neanderthal to oversell an important story about differences in epigenetic regulation between humans ...
Optogenetics: Light can control behavior when genes mediate
Dr. Karl Deisseroth is having a very early breakfast before the day gets going at the annual meeting of the ...
Old blood, new science: 115-year-old woman’s blood suggests lifespan depends on stem cells
The blood of one of the oldest women to have lived -- and quite possibly the oldest to ever donate ...
Not the end of men: Set of Y chromosome conserved through evolution
A core set of genes on the Y chromosome has been retained through much of animal evolution, not just for ...
American’s know genetics relate to health, survey says
23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, is celebrating National DNA Day by taking an in-depth look at what Americans know ...
Gene therapy can restore hearing to deaf poeple
In two months' time, a group of profoundly deaf people could be able to hear again, thanks to the world's ...
Depressed people may produce too much of a damaging neuroprotein
Post-mortem analysis of brain tissue has shown that the dendrites that relay messages between neurons are more shrivelled in people ...
Impacts of genetic analysis and patient advocacy for extremely rare diseases
Marshall L. Summar, MD, Chief of the Division of Genetics and Metabolism at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, ...
Surrogacy without infertility: Is career reason enough?
Although still rare, rich women are choosing to use surrogates during pregnancy for social reasons without medical necessity ...
New indie film takes on designer babies
The most recent Pew survey released last week, US Views of Technology and the Future, is an in-depth look at ...
Genetics link inflammatory bowl disease and cancers
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a group of chronic inflammatory disorders of the intestine that result in painful and debilitating complications, ...
Viral cloaking device hide DNA nanomedicines from immune system
It's a familiar trope in science fiction: In enemy territory, activate your cloaking device. And real-world viruses use similar tactics ...
Ignorance about genetics helps spread of common contagious disease
It’s that strange time of year when, despite springtime breaking out all over town – tulips, apple blossom, sunshine, the ...
RNAi gene silencing comes back to life
After a rocky start, RNA interference (RNAi), a gene-silencing technique that won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, ...
How do you study the evolution of intelligence: look to animals
There are many scientists who study the mental abilities of animals. As intelligent animals ourselves, we’re keen to learn whether ...
DNA “cloaking devices” sneak past the immune system, could deliver medicine and identify disease
The mammalian immune system remained an obstacle to deploying DNA nanorobots that could carry medicines through your bloodstream and to ...
Genes play roll in pain tolerance differences between patients
Researchers may have identified key genes linked to why some people have a higher tolerance for pain than others, according ...
