Daily Human Digest
Angelina Jolie revelation tripled breast, ovarian cancer genetic testing
The number of Australian women referred to genetic clinics tripled immediately after Angelina Jolie's announcement that she carried a faulty ...
Breast cancer researchers identify genetic ‘switch’
Queensland scientists have identified a genetic "switch" that indicates whether breast cancer is aggressive and likely to spread. The discovery may provide a ...
Bitter taste gene may have been evolutionarily beneficial
It can be puzzling sometimes when someone else finds the taste of your favorite food to be disgusting, but research ...
Dad’s cocaine use may help protect son from addiction
Cocaine use may not make you a better dad, but it may make your son a bit more resistant to ...
Scientists reconstruct genomes of Ice-Age animals
The genomes of giant Ice Age animals were reconstructed thanks to a new technique that may advance our understanding of ...
Is limb regeneration science fiction? Maybe not
Limb regeneration remains the stuff of science fiction for humans, but an accidental discovery suggests people may yet be able ...
Florida Supreme Court rules egg donor has parental rights to her partner’s child
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a woman who donated an egg to her lesbian partner has parental rights ...
Regions human genome changed more rapidly than others
New genetic research has revealed the existence of certain regions in the human genome that have changed or mutated more ...
IVF embroys approved for longer and longer storage times
More WA couples are getting permission to store their frozen embryos beyond the normal 10-year limit, figures show. In-vitro fertilisation ...
Stem cells of obese women promote the growth of breast tumors
Obesity causes changes in stem cells that can result in cancers growing more aggressively, say scientists at Tulane University School ...
Fast-mutating DNA sequences shape early development
What does it mean to be human? According to scientists, the key lies, ultimately, in the billions of lines of ...
Your genes influence your political views. So what?
A small but active cottage industry has sprung up to explore the genetic bases of political attitudes and behavior. Studies of ...
Depression makes cells age faster
Even when adjusted to account for excluded lifestyle differences, a recent study shows that depressed patients have shorter telomeres, a ...
DNA test shows white supremacist he has african ancestors
The white supremacist attempting to turn a small North Dakotan town into a ‘white enclave’ has undergone a DNA test ...
Twin study suggests politics and genetics go together
You may have your mom's laugh, and your dad's nose, but do you also inherit your parents' political leanings? A ...
Do the benefits of synthetic biology outweigh the risks?
In 2010, scientists created the world’s first synthetic life form. With this staggering achievement came the inevitable ethical and philosophical ...
With just a few genetic changes, new species are able to evolve
By analyzing two closely related species of butterflies, scientists at the University of Chicago have found that it only takes ...
Epigenetics of drug abuse
Studying post-mortem human brains of heroin abusers, Yasmin Hurd of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and her ...
How a gene for fair skin spread across India
Cover Girl, Maybelline, are you listening? A new study of skin color in South Asians finds they have enormous diversity, ...
Eliminating genetic mystery, for only $99
IF DNA is destiny, then Anne Wojcicki is in the right business. She is the co-founder and chief executive of ...
IVF success affected by ethnicity
Asian and black women who have IVF are less likely to become pregnant than white women using similar fertility treatment, ...
DNA matches narrow possible crime suspects, but that’s not proof
Though for most people the mention of the words "DNA" and "match" in the same sentence means "guilty", a Stellenbosch ...
It’s easy to get genetic test results, but hard to get anything useful out of it
Catherine Afarian is the spokesperson for 23andMe, a privately held direct-to-consumer, or DTC, genetic-testing company based in Silicon Valley. The ...
Indians and Europeans share ‘light-skin’ genetic coding
Indians share a gene with Europeans that plays a significant role in coding for lighter skin, new research suggests. The ...
DNA test reveals unexpected ancient ancestors
Earlier this year, when I energetically swabbed the inside of my cheek for National Geographic’s Genographic Project, I had no ...
You can’t control your child’s destiny through genetics
With the rise of prenatal genetic testing and the new techniques for editing DNA, you'd think we'd be able to ...
New genetic ‘editing’ technique raises the specter of human enhancement
It’s got Nobel Prize written all over it. The scientific innovation, CRISPR, which enables accurate ‘editing’ of DNA (compared to ...