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.
‘Hobbit species’ continues to provoke questions about course of human evolution
In 2003, researchers excavating a limestone cave on the remote Indonesian island of Flores made an extraordinary discovery: the 18,000-year-old ...
Bioethics consulting services provide valuable oversight for researchers
When scientists run into ethical dilemmas in their research, they typically turn to institutional review boards (IRBs) for advice. Increasingly, ...
How scientists investigate the brain’s internal navigation system
“Can you point to Center City?” neuroscientist Russell Epstein likes to ask visitors to his office at the University of ...
How the human immune system resets after Staph infection
When pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella or Staphylococcus invade our bodies, we go into a state of high alert and alter ...
Genetics of congenital heart defects in Down syndrome
In Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal abnormality in humans, a third copy of all or part of chromosome 21 is ...
Gluten-free fad food choice, rarely medically dictated
Millions of people have lately adopted a gluten-free diet by self-diagnosing with gluten sensitivities in spite of the fact there ...
Genetic mutation missed in 20% of colorectal cancers responsive to drugs
A new research effort has identified a genetic mutation that has been overlooked in recent large, comprehensive gene searches - ...
Genetic secret that attracts females (fruit flies to humans?)
A new study has found that female fruit flies don't simply choose a mate based on things like wing colors. They look ...
Cancer genetics: YEATS protein as target for cancer
The human body has an unprecedented capacity to move genetic material from place to place, including a packaging and delivery system ...
Genomes show early contact between Easter Island and the Americas
The Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen may not have arrived on Easter Island until 1722 but new genomic evidence finds that the Rapanui people living there ...
Genetic variant helped in the Arctic, but now makes us fat
Researchers have discovered a genetic variant that arose thousands of years ago in people living in the Arctic. It helped them then, ...
Promising Ebola drugs trapped in a ‘biotech valley of death’
The news that yet another American, New York City physician Craig Spencer, has tested positive for Ebola has stoked an ...
Is egg freezing a smart move for companies and employees?
The announcement that Apple and Facebook will start offering female employees a $20,000 benefit to freeze their eggs and delay childbirth has ...
Do ‘brain games’ live up to their hype?
Some neuroscientists are speaking out against "brain games," computer-based games that purportedly improve memory and cognitive functioning, and even claim to ...
Before sperm meets egg
In high school biology, we all learned that development of a new organism is a complex endeavor ...
How to sell a toxic pesticide the smart way–call it organic
Puzzled about how organic pesticides and synthetic ones have such a different perception among Whole Foods shoppers? Here is an ...
US Ebola hysteria and money pit highlight lack of resources to confront diseases that kill far more people
The Ebola hysteria underscores how frenzy rather than need drives government responses and resources. Listeria is a disease that's not ...
Addiction can be measured by epigenetics
Both alcohol and cocaine dependence are regulated by epigenetic changes in the brain that begin with abuse. Matched with the ...
An end to fat shaming? The 50 year DNA mystery of metabolic dysfunction may soon be solved
Eat all of the pizza you want? Unlikely, but some people do have a biological disadvantage when it comes to ...
Women carry fetal DNA long after children’s birth
Women and their offspring exchange small amounts of DNA during pregnancy. Those fetal DNA signatures can last a lifetime in ...
Closer examination of risk factors for Latinos underscores cultural diversity
Investigations into the genetics of disease in Latino populations are yielding interesting patterns of risk and protection from disease. The ...
Mutagenesis: One way Europeans wish it was 1936 again
Want to use ionizing radiation and mutagenic chemicals to create herbicide-resistant crops without the messy GMO protests? Mutagenesis is the ...
Natural Resources Defense Council sues EPA to block rollout of Dow Enlist Duo GMO system
The NRDC filed what is expected to be the first of numerous suits challenging the EPA's approval of Enlist Duo, ...
Beyond universal donors, some people are programed with no blood type at all
People genetically coded with the RH-null blood type have a blood type more rare than extremely rare disease. Their numbers ...
Sperm mislabeling causes consternation for all-white family with mixed race child
Sperm is a product, but not a well-regulated one. After receiving donor sperm from an African American donor, a Caucasian ...
Why random walks in evolution lead to the same place–and why biotechnology opponents should take note
A recent study found that evolution is not as random and chaotic as critics of biology like to contend. In ...
CDC faced a nearly impossible balancing act with Ebola, and failed
In an attempt to claim public concerns from turning into mass hysteria, the CDC made some major blunders--some medical and ...
