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.
Ebola virus preys on human caretaking behaviors for transmission
As the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has spiraled out of control, affecting thousands of Liberians, Sierra Leonians, and Guineans, ...
Human language gene linked to early attentional multi-tasking
Neuroscientists have found that a gene mutation that arose more than half a million years ago may be key to ...
Ebola virus response “inadequate” to match new potential mutations
The virus poses new challenges: the possibility of mutations that would make containing its spread more difficult and fears it ...
Diet soda and sweeteners alter gut bacteria, contributing to obesity? Not so fast.
According to a just-released study in Nature, rather than helping you avoid consuming fat-producing calories, sugar-free sodas and 'diet' snacks ...
As 60 becomes new definition of middle-aged, how is human society changing?
For millennia, if not for eons—anthropology continuously pushes backward the time of human origin—life expectancy was short. The few people ...
Media cycle helps pepetuate misleading ‘gene of the week’ cycle
Science writer David Dobbs has definitively described the voracious appetite of the “selfish gene” meme, pointing out that the notion ...
Criminal justice system needs easy and free access to DNA testing
Given the incredible power of DNA to exonerate the innocent and expose the guilty, it's alarming that a mountain of ...
More evidence IQ is in the genes
It was named the language gene before we really understood what it did. Now mice given the human version of ...
Advanced cancer screenings find early, slow growing cancers more often than fast aggressive ones
As cancer screenings grow more sophisticated, the chances of finding small, slow growing cancers has increased rapidly, at great cost ...
Is genetic screening for all a new eugenics?
In recent weeks, there’s been talk of three types of genetic testing transitioning from targeted populations to the general public: ...
Live to be 100+? Extreme longevity research is futuristic privatized enterprise
When longevity research is privately funded, what happens when the money runs dry? ...
How brushing your teeth affects the microbiome of the placenta and infant
I’ve written in the past regarding some of the seminal hypotheses of how the microbiome influences our health, behavior, and ...
Louisiana govenor in evolution hot seat, was Rhodes scholar who studied biology
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal dodged three questions on Tuesday about whether he personally believes the theory of evolution explains the ...
Neuroscience, mindfullness and reslience in school kids
For scientists the concept of psychological resilience began in the 1970s with studies of children who did fine – or ...
Don’t get your hopes up for finding your genetic soul mate
Some online dating sites rely on a mathematical algorithm to match people. Others are based on pure physical attraction and ...
World stem cell scientists look to Japanese human trial with hope
“It’s awesome, it’s amazing, I’m thrilled, I’ve been waiting for this,” says Jeanne Loring, a stem-cell biologist at the Scripps ...
Some patients with genetic risk start Alzheimer’s prevention strategies in their 30s
Max Lugavere seems an unlikely patient to be sitting in an Alzheimer's clinic. The fit, 32-year-old, dressed in Converse All-Star ...
Researcher probes why viruses remain genetically stable for some time, then rapidly mutate
Unlike most kids, Katia Koelle’s first love was math, a passion she picked up from enthusiastic instructors. “One of my ...
Cervical cancer virus DNA can be detected in urine
Dread going for a smear test? A simple urine test can pick up the human papilloma virus (HPV) that causes ...
Rhino poacher caught through DNA bank
Customs officials spotted the horn in the luggage of a passenger as he passed through Changi Airport, Singapore. When they ...
Cutting edge DNA test needed in rape case involving identical twin
The rape suspect, court papers said, was identified by a longtime friend who said they committed the crime together. The ...
Random events in human development important for both nature and nuture
Is our behavior determined by genetics, or are we products of our environments? What matters more for the development of ...
Love of music likely in our genes
Are you clueless about why your partner has an innate drive for music while you just cannot understand hip-hop or ...
Alzheimer’s, heart disease and other age-related conditions share risk factors and genetics
The two seemingly unrelated conditions may be driven by similar unhealthy states, including high blood pressure and diabetes. According to ...
Evolution do-over might lead to the same place
Scientists have often wondered if evolution happened all over again, what would life on earth look like? A Harvard biologist ...
Do cancers act as a DNA time machine?
Are cancers an evolutionary atavism, revealing the genetic history of humankind? Might physicists be the key to winning the War ...
Call it what it is: Mitochondrial replacement does not a three-parent baby make
Mitochandrial replacement offers hope to families debilitated by disease. But opponents stoke fear of public by dumbing down the science ...
