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.
Paleolithic diet advocates find no support from genetics
We still hear and read a lot about how a diet based on what our Stone Age ancestors ate may ...
DNA structure co-discoverer James Watson to sell Nobel Prize amid backlash against racial remarks
James Watson, the famed molecular biologist and co-discoverer of DNA, is putting his Nobel Prize up for auction. This sad ...
Doctor, parents, or future child: Who has rights to an embryo’s genome?
Geneticist Razib Khan's decision to obtain the whole genome sequence of his partner's fetus in utero shows us that genomics ...
Revolutionary bioengineered trachea transplants under investigation
One of Europe’s most prestigious medical universities, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, has launched two investigations into the clinical procedures ...
Of mice and men: Comparing genetics raises new questions about reliability of rodent studies
The laboratory mouse really lies at the foundation of numerous life science studies, but is it an appropriate model in ...
Teens’ brains: Social processing fails when they hear mom’s criticism
We all know that teen-parent relations can be a tricky business. Now neuroscientists from several leading US universities think they’ve ...
Petri dish spinal cord grown from stem cells
Most efforts to grow tissues and organs rely on biodegradable scaffolds. When ‘seeded’ with a patient’s stem cells, these scaffolds ...
Your dog’s body language shows whether he hears your command
If you are worried that your dog is not paying attention to what you are saying simply look at where ...
Electrotherapy appears to have benefits, but how does it affect the brain?
Stimulating the brain with electricity improves working memory, mental maths,focused attention, creativity and could help treat depression. You can even ...
Animals steal antibiotic genes from microbes
Life on this planet has existed for at least 3.5 billion years. For most of that time, it was microscopic ...
Genetics may explain why many near Fukushima nuclear disaster unaffected by radiation exposure
People fear the effects or radiation, particularly in the aftermath of nuclear disasters, but not all the health news after ...
Sorry Dr. Oz and Jenny McCarthy: More scientific proof vaccines, GMOs don’t cause autism
Despite the loud voices of disinformation, the scientific community has overwhelmingly agreed that there is no causal link between vaccines ...
Prostate screenings may lead to cancer-causing therapy
In 1970 I discovered the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, which is now the most widely used tool in prostate screenings ...
Newly discovered ancient mammal had some surprising traits
Mesozoic mammals were fascinating little beasts. They burrowed, climbed, glided, and swam through the Age of Dinosaurs, not as underdogs ...
How missing genes can lead to novel cures
Ten years ago, scientists discovered that some people are naturally missing working copies of a gene known as PCSK9. The ...
Debating ethics of new human reproduction technologies
Welcome to the brave new world of technology-enhanced human reproduction with its promise of alleviating the heartache of infertility, and ...
Genome of worm removed from man’s brain mapped
For many years, a Chinese man in the U.K. experienced a range of debilitating neurological symptoms with no understood origin--including ...
Wisconsin police department to expand felon DNA collection program
The state Department of Justice has hired nearly 20 more workers and begun a pricey renovation of its Madison crime lab ...
Applying neuroscience to poverty may do more harm than good
The idea that poverty can change the brain has gotten significant attention recently, and not just from those lay readers ...
Canada gearing up to pass law against genetic discrimination
Canada is gearing up to pass a law against genetic discrimination. How is the rest of the world dealing with ...
Depression researchers look ahead for ‘golden age’ of research by drawing on cancer’s track record
Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment could yield valuable insights for depression researchers, who struggle to understand the role of ...
Relationship problems? Genes may be responsible
In a study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, scientists from the University of Queensland claimed to have ...
Researchers sequencing Ebola virus in hope of finding cure
Gene sequencing equipment maker Illumina has teamed up with the U.S. government and academic researchers at the Broad Institute in ...
Financial pressure may force Galápagos conservation organization to close
A 50-year-old conservation organization dedicated to preserving the biodiversity hotspot that inspired Charles Darwin is about to fall off a ...
Translating language in real time relies on interconnectedness of brain’s networks
As the delegate spoke, real-time interpreter Marisa Pinkney had to make sense of a message composed in one language while ...
Hepatitis B vaccine produced cheaply and efficiently using GMO corn
A small technology venture, called Applied Biotechnology Institute (ABI) in San Luis Obispo, CA, a lovely small city along the Central ...
What researchers have learned about human evolution in 40 years since Lucy discovery
“Feeling really lucky,” Donald Johanson wrote in his diary the morning of 24 November 1974, while staying at a remote ...
