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.
Inside 23andme founder Anne Wojcicki’s $99 DNA revolution
There's a lot you can do for your child with 99 dollars. I took that money and got my daughter's ...
“Find and Replace” across an entire genome
It couldn’t be easier to make sweeping edits on a computer document. If I were so inclined, I could find ...
Difference in gene regulation between humans and chimps more complex than thought
Changes in gene regulation have been used to study the evolutionary chasm that exists between humans and chimpanzees despite their ...
New fossil suggest ancient human ancestors the same species: Homo erectus
The spectacular fossilised skull of an ancient human ancestor that died nearly two million years ago in central Asia has ...
Genetic analysis shows “Yeti” is actually a polar bear hybrid
Aw, shucks. Science goin’ off and ruining everything again for cryptozoologists. The latest blow comes from a UK geneticist who ...
Does finding cancer mutations lead to cures?
We don't have drugs to treat most cancer mutations. So how does hunting for mutations help? ...
Being a good Samaritan could be influenced by genetics
Everyone knows the biblical parable of the good Samaritan. A new study suggests that a single variation in a specific ...
Talking with kids about genetics
Last week, I had the opportunity to talk with a group of students from Grandview Heights School in Edmonton, Canada. The ...
Post Supreme Court ruling, Quest to offer genetic test for breast cancer risk
Quest Diagnostics Inc on Tuesday became the largest U.S. company to start offering gene-based tests for inherited forms of breast ...
There’s much more to IQ than biology and DNA
Genetics doesn't matter more than teaching. Nature doesn't matter more than nurture does. They both contribute to intelligence ...
Gene and stem cell therapy could speed up wound healing
Even though there are effective medications and therapy for healing wounds, the recovery process can still be slow. In a ...
Craig Venter working on device that could send DNA over the internet
Craig Venter, who created the world’s first synthetic life, is working on a “DNA box” that could transport genetic sequences ...
Tangled ethics of preimplantation genetic testing
During her third summer of life, my oldest daughter had three broken bones - a broken arm in June, a ...
Gene therapy trial: Virus could help damaged hearts
Some days 50-year-old David Palmer can barely get out of bed and walk to the bathroom as his heart is ...
Data-driven medicine: understanding the link between genetics and disease
From Google to Facebook and GCHQ to the NSA, every day we hear more about the lengths to which organizations ...
Scientist find living genetic relatives of ancient iceman
No next-of-kin was around to claim the frozen 5,300-year-old body of Ötzi the Iceman when it was found in the ...
Gene variant predicts how helpful you are, researcher suggests
People's willingness to help others may be influenced by a gene that affects their level of social anxiety, according to ...
DNA testing on your smartphone just a download away
Genetic sequencing is no longer for the uber-wealthy and uber-patient: If a decade ago it cost $3 billion and took ...
Some people are genetically predisposed to spot danger
A new study from the University of British Columbia has found more than half of people are genetically predisposed to ...
Scientific first: 46-million-year-old mosquito, filled with blood
No real life scientist has ever even found a fossilized mosquito bloated with blood. In fact, the odds of that ...
MicroRNAs may fight the spread of cancer
Researchers at Princeton University have found that microRNAs — small bits of genetic material capable of repressing the expression of ...
How climate change is causing species to evolve
Researchers in the new field of "landscape genetics" find that global warming is causing effects that spur species to evolve ...
Sequencing genomes of entire microcosmic ecosystems
Viruses are the most abundant entities on the planet—and among the most mysterious. Mya Breitbart, a microbial ecologist at the ...
Creationists pit genetics and evolution against one another
Evolution and genetics are "two very closely interwoven disciplines," as the Genetics Society of America observes, so it is difficult ...
Do your genes influence who you love?
Imagine a dating site where, in addition to a completed survey, you have to submit a genetic profile. This could ...
DNA study shows herbal products not always what they appear to be
DNA barcoding revealed that sixty percent of herbal products tested contained DNA from plant species not included on the label ...
Engineered mice show jet lag could become a thing of the past
Scientists have discovered a genetic mechanism that regulates the effects of jet lag. While a cure for the disorder is ...
