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.
Viewpoint: Activist disinformation blurs consumers ability to separate ideology from genuine health risks
Vaccines are getting American media attention now that Republicans are engaging in misinformation the way Democrats did for decades, but ...
Microplastics are invading our brain and bodies? New research says the claims in most studies are wrong and some are a “joke”
High-profile studies reporting the presence of microplastics throughout the human body have been thrown into doubt by scientists who say ...
RFK, Jr. quietly undermining science consensus that cellphones are safe
The Food and Drug Administration quietly removed webpages saying cellphones aren’t dangerous as the Department of Health and Human Services ...
Viewpoint: Trump’s support for nuclear energy is a win for the climate
A president whose pandemic response was viewed by many as incompetent at best and brazen denial at worst spearheaded the ...
Viewpoint: Trump’s FDA has been corrupted into a bargaining chip for White House deal-making
For decades, the Food and Drug Administration was the undisputed global gold standard for regulation. While other nations might approve drugs faster or ...
Coalition of medical expert organizations formed to counteract RFK, Jr.’s rejectionist recommendations
Six leading medical organizations plan to ask the courts to throw out revisions to the childhood vaccination schedule .... Mr ...
RFK, Jr. adds two vaccine and antidepressant rejectionists to U.S. vaccine advisory panel
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed two new members to the Centers for Disease Control and ...
Viewpoint: COVID vaccines caused ‘turbo cancers’? MAHA disinformers revive long-debunked claims
... I saw a post on X, the disinformation hellsite formerly known as Twitter, by eminent oncologist and cancer researcher ...
Vaccines do more than prevent disease, especially for older adults
Let’s be clear. The primary reason to be vaccinated against shingles is that two shots provide 90 percent protection against a painful, ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s next attack in his war against science—Restricting antidepressants
While his war on vaccines may be getting more attention, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is coming for another ...
Is cannabis medically useless? The data and patient experience sometime diverge
“There is a gap between what science can confidently tell us and what patients are experiencing in their day-to-day lives,” ...
Viewpoint: Do transgirls have a legal right to compete in school athletic competitions?
Does a biological boy who transitions to become a girl have a constitutional right to compete in girls’ sports? Twenty-seven ...
5 provocative questions about how AI might shape our future
If 2025 has been the year of AI hype, 2026 might be the year of AI reckoning. Its powerful capabilities ...
Viewpoint: The ‘utter bullshit’ of functional medicine
[T]here must be something specific that Functional Medicine teaches, right? Well, no. I looked hard to find a single medical ...
Are multivitamins dangerous for children?
"Parents risk poisoning their children when they give them multivitamins," [Susanne Bügel, professor of nutrition at the University of Copenhagen] ...
‘We’re genetically predisposed to believing our eyes’: AI deepfakes supercharging misinformation
For years, people could largely trust, at least instinctively, that seeing was believing. Now, what’s fake often looks real and ...
Study shows AI chatbots are incredibly effective at creating false memories among users
An experimental study in the United States found that having a conversational AI insert slight misinformation into conversations with users ...
Viewpoint: Why nuclear expansion should not be held hostage to oudated science and imagined health risks
With the return of nuclear energy to the public square and serious efforts among policymakers to commercialize a new generation ...
Autism risk is genetic
An international team of scientists has identified hundreds of genes that are essential for early brain development, uncovering new insights ...
CDC cuts life-saving childhood vaccines from its schedule. Vaccination rates were already plunging
Medical specialists and public health experts expect more children will be left unprotected given policies advanced by Health Secretary Robert ...
From organic living to science-denying conspiracy: The evolution of America’s ‘Crunchy Mom’ movement
When her son was born six years ago, Alex, a 30-year-old mother living in Iowa, completely changed her mindset: "During ...
Republican Senator breaks party ranks, trashes RFK, Jr.’s evisceration of childhood vaccine schedule
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and one of Congress’ few medical professionals, on Monday criticized the Department of Health ...
‘The dire wolf isn’t back’: A Colossal failure or the cutting-edge of conservation? Maybe both
When Colossal unveiled its interpretation of the dire wolf in April, the news made international headlines. Enthusiastic profiles in Time ...
Can AI’s enormous power demands resuscitate the low-carbon nuclear power industry?
Giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have inked numerous deals in recent years with nuclear companies to power data centers; ...
Viewpoint: What’s the likely impact of RFK’s political move to drastically cut recommended childhood schedule vaccines
The new schedule recommends that flu and COVID vaccines only be given after consulting with a health care provider. It ...
Viewpoint: ‘Kennedy has overstayed his welcome’ — RFK, Jr.’s litigation-driven health policies creating cracks in MAGA-MAHA coalition
While the political marriage between MAHA and MAGA has strangely remained intact, adherents of President Trump’s agenda are beginning to notice that ...
Cassandras map the ‘inevitable’ AI doomsday
Right in the heart of Berkeley is the home of a group of modern-day Cassandras who rummage under the hood ...
