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.
Our oldest ancestors are warty comb jellies
Saying that our oldest ancestors are warty comb jelliies might not sound too flattering, but it’s an improvement. Until now, ...
‘Duon’ controversy: Scientists claim second code hiding within DNA, provoking sharp rebuke
In a claim sharply challenged as overhyped, University of Washington scientists say they have "discovered" a second code hiding within ...
How to grow brains in a lab
Bioengineers dream of growing spare parts for our worn-out or diseased bodies. They have already succeeded with some tissues, but ...
Gene therapy staunches hemophillia in test
Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine and the Medical College of Wisconsin found that a new kind of gene ...
Study of breast cancer in dogs may shed light on human cancer
When it comes to dogs, mammary tumors are the most common forms of cancer in females. Now, though, researchers have ...
Genetic testing: Too much or too little information?
Since ancient times, Oracles, soothsayers, and fortune tellers have been offering prophesies about the future. This desire for foreknowledge leads ...
Baby’s health depends on dad’s diet before conception, not just mom’s
Mothers get all the blame these days but a new paper led suggests that the father's diet before conception may ...
Scientists ID more epilepsy genes
Scientists screening the DNA of large cohorts for known and suspected epilepsy associated genes are finding that, while some genes ...
Reflections from mom whose baby was stillborn on wh 23andMe and other DTC services are so critical
Geneticist Anastasia Bodnar, whose daughter was stillborn earlier this year, reflects on the brouhaha surrounding the personal genomics company 23andMe ...
The tricky task of aligning evolution and environmental influence
An unfortunate outgrowth of the modern revolution in genetics is the widespread belief that the genes of an individual organism ...
DNA plays powerful role in how students do on exams
A new study suggests that genetics may account for 58% of the difference between children's test scores. Will the finding ...
In key ways, great white sharks are more similar to humans than to fish
New research suggests that many of the great white shark’s proteins match humans more closely than they do zebrafish, the ...
Widow fights to keep late husband’s sperm for IVF
A young widow has been told she has just weeks to decide whether to use her late husband’s sperm to ...
Gene therapy scores big wins against blood cancers
In one of the biggest advances against leukemia and other blood cancers in many years, doctors are reporting unprecedented success ...
Do we need to be protected from our genomes?
The Food & Drug Administration provoked a furious controversy when it recently ordered the personal genetics company 23andMe to stop ...
One geneticist’s take on the 23andMe FDA warning
As a geneticist. I spend a lot of time looking at genomes. But until I taught my “Genetics and Society” ...
Comparison of aging patterns sheds light on evolutionary purpose of aging
A new comparison of aging patterns of humans and 45 other species reveals that some species live much longer than ...
Science reporters fail to dig deep enough on male v. female brain story
The media went nuts over the recent brain scanning study saying men and women differ when it comes to spatial ...
Setback for stem cell HIV “cure”
Two HIV-infected men who were thought to be clear of the virus after having stem cell transplants have had the ...
23andMe facing class action suit for making ‘genetic predictions’
23andMe is now faced with a class-action lawsuit that challenges the company's claims of genetic tests' predictive power ...
For now, genetic tests raise more questions than answers
An increasing number of private companies are offering to read people's DNA in the same way that a computer reads ...
Right or left, politics may be in the genes
While we all pride ourselves on having developed our political identity after a lengthy period of thoughtful contemplation, it turns ...
Home genome testing is here to stay
The FDA is right to be angry that 23andMe doesn't appear to be taking the regulatory process seriously. There are ...
Gene predicts how well you’ll respond to common antidepressants
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, but they don't work for everyone. What's more, patients ...
23andMe debacle: Government wants to protect you from your own genome
Did you know that you cannot be trusted with knowledge of your own genetic background? That's what the Food and ...
How to share DNA, for science, but keep some semblance of privacy
The notion of a genetic testing company selling one’s DNA code the way an online retailer sells email addresses feels ...
Nearly a quarter of cow genome comes from snakes
According to a new article, “horizontal gene transfer” allows genes to cut themselves out of surrounding DNA and paste themselves ...
