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.
Sensationalist media coverage of gene therapy provokes ethical concerns
Media coverage of trials related to gene therapy has portrayed the clinical research rollercoaster. [Recently], The New York Times ran ...
UC Davis prof argues three-person IVF not same as “life-saving treatment”
UC Davis Assistant Professor of Philosophy Tina Rulli published a report titled "What is the Value of Three-Parent IVF?"...If you have ...
Alternative to CRISPR–NgAgo gene editing–met with scorn and doubts
A controversy is escalating over whether a gene-editing technique proposed as an alternative to the popular CRISPR–Cas9 system actually works ...
Video: CRISPR set to alter what it means to be human—is that so bad?
With the advent of CRISPR, a new age of genetic engineering promises to change everything we know about what it ...
Scientists may have found gene behind hyper-sociability
[H]umans are social beings, an evolutionary trait that helped separate us from other primates millions of years ago...These genetic underpinnings ...
Uses for DNA may spread to far-flung fields like archaeology and fine arts
In the past couple of decades, genetics has revolutionized fields such as...medicine. In the next couple, expect DNA to turn ...
Over-heated fears of eugenics linger over today’s genetic research, threatening advances
'Genes can have up to 80 per cent of influence on students' academic performance.' When I saw that headline recently, ...
Olympic health update: Zika vaccines, GMO mosquitoes, and snake oils
There's progress on a vaccine to combat as well as biotech solutions but there are also fake Zika solutions being ...
Gene therapy revolution must address new ethical questions
[In 2015], the United States federal budget included a rider banning certain types of gene therapy research, and that has ...
Massive growth in participants signals Human Genome’s “Facebook moment”
In June [2016], 4.1 petabytes of cancer data went online on a new platform...called the Genomic Data Commons. Four petabytes ...
Scientists see genes switching off in live human brains for first time
The switching-off of genes in the human brain has been watched live for the first time. By comparing this activity ...
DNA on half-eaten food may become incriminating evidence
A bite mark on a homicide victim’s skin is not an unusual discovery...With luck, a good match might help prove ...
Latest genetic engineering machine makes biotech research much easier
"It's one of the fastest-growing industries in America," said Orkan Telhan[, describing the biotechnology boom]... But the trouble with biotechnology ...
Machine learning helps uncover genetics of autism
Researchers at Princeton and the Simons Foundation turned the traditional approach on its head, teaching a machine learning algorithm to ...
Scientists already looking for better alternatives to CRISPR
The CRISPR–Cas9 tool enables scientists to alter genomes practically at will...But for all the devotion, CRISPR–Cas9 has its limitations. It ...
Will epigenetics play central role in advancement of precision medicine?
For many treatments it remains to be proven whether a drug's epigenetic actions, rather than another mechanism such as stimulation ...
Gene therapy recovery drug for $665,000 offered with money back guarantee
A gene therapy will be offered for sale in Europe with a money-back guarantee, according to GlaxoSmithKline, the company commercializing ...
End sex segregation in sport competitions? That denies genetic facts
From New York Times: What if, in some dystopian swim universe, [ace swimmer Katie] Ledecky was told that...she would have ...
Despite public fear against human chimeras, three already exist
The news that researchers want to create human-animal chimeras has generated controversy recently...But chimeras aren't always man-made — and there ...
Regulators find no harm in GM mosquitoes despite public concern
A type of genetically modified mosquito made by the British company Oxitec should pose no danger to the environment, US ...
Gene doping could actually make Olympics fairer
There have yet to be any confirmed cases of athletes genetically enhancing their bodies. But this could be because none ...
Does genetics separate Olympians from everyone else?
For decades, scientists have been studying the role of nature and nurture in producing Olympic athletes...What they've learned is that ...
Microbiome may bring revolution in personalized medicine
The microbiome...has the potential to change the way we diagnose and treat the most critical diseases of our time... [E]ach ...
Scientists successfully test three different Zika vaccines on monkeys
The race to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the Zika virus got one step closer [on August 4], ...
Olympic controversy over intersex athletes about to ignite?
It’s a ticking timebomb,” Daniel Mothowagae says...as he anticipates the furore that is likely to explode when Caster Semenya runs in ...
Congressman for Puerto Rico urges use of GM mosquitoes to fight Zika
As the number of Zika cases in Puerto Rico skyrocket into the thousands, Congressman Pedro Pierluisi, the island’s sole representative, ...
FDA: GMO mosquito has no negative impacts, opening door to November Key West vote on Zika eradication trial
On 5 August, the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for a planned trial in a small part of ...
