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.
23andMe to work with FDA for approval
23andMe, the health and ancestry startup, is slowly but surely moving along in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulatory ...
Epigentics: sorting out the hype from the substance
We haven't written much about epigenetics for a while, in part because it's so trendy that it's impossible to know ...
Welcome to the strange new world of synthetic biology
Over the past decade, the ease of sequencing and creating DNA has improved so much that the possibilities of genetic ...
Genetics and beer consumption raise risk of mosquito bites
Blood type, metabolism, exercise, shirt color and even drinking beer can make individuals especially delicious to mosquitoes. You come in ...
Docs get guidance for patient genomes in practice
In a review article published this week (June 19) in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have released guidelines ...
Rapid gene test identifies bacteria in battlefield wounds
After an American GI is wounded in combat, his or her life depends on the speed of evacuation, the degree ...
Master gene controls stem cell development in brain’s movement centers
Athletes and artists perform their extraordinary feats relying on the cerebellum. As well, the cerebellum is critical for the everyday ...
Best chocolate for your gut bacteria
It’s said that, in a healthy human the bacteria cells in our gut and other areas of our body outnumber ...
Brain responds to sunbathing like other addictions
Can't resist getting a tan despite the risks? It might be more than a habit. That's the suggestion from a ...
Birds evolved pattern recognition to spot cuckoo’s planted eggs
New pattern recognition software has shed light on the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and the birds they target. Cuckoos ...
Power to edit who you are
Gene editing in humans will soon become a treatment reality. But how will society determine which conditions deserve this treatment ...
Future of biofortified foods: Protests block advancement of super bananas and Golden Rice
Can biofortified crops really do any good in the world? Only if both sides of the biotech debate work together ...
Newly found mutations keep triglyceride levels low, thwart heart disease despite diet
Two major studies by leading research groups published on Wednesday independently identified mutations in a single gene that protect against ...
To fight aging, second languages and new hobbies may keep brain limber
We all know that exercise helps keep our hearts healthy, but what keeps our brains in top form? Researchers are ...
Gambling behavior linked to dopamine regulation genes
Investors and gamblers take note: your betting decisions and strategy are determined, in part, by your genes.esearchers from the University ...
Genetics of sex get some special attention
Sex is everywhere in nature. Whether it’s a male bird singing to mark his territory or a tiny yeast cell ...
Metabolic map shows how genes control enzymes in each individual
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) scientists have drafted a metabolic map of the human body that shows how ...
Enter the ‘grolar bear’: Warming habitats means chances for inter-species mating
In the last 40 years, the Arctic has warmed by about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, more than twice the overall global ...
What neuroscience can tell us about PTSD and how to rewrite our memories
Fear and memory share many connections in the brain. By understanding that physiology and relationship, neuroscientist Daniela Schiller hopes to ...
Gene-specific cancer treatment is common, but there are still some kinks
Elaine Mardis and her colleagues first encountered 39-year-old Lucy (not her real name) in 2010 at the Genome Institute at ...
Second mosquito genome targets dengue and yellow fever
Virginia Tech entomologists have developed a chromosome map for about half of the genome of the mosquito Aedes agypti, the ...
Genotyping not better than symptoms for picking stroke medication
Using a patient's genotype to guide the initial dosing of warfarin or its analogues does not appear to be better ...
Free-DNA prenatal screenings greatly reducing use of amniocentesis
A simple blood test is transforming the world of prenatal screening, offering women a risk-free way to learn about fetal ...
Little genetic variation alongside human behavior at fault for passenger pigeon extinction
The passenger pigeon is the poster species for human-caused extinction. From a population of between three and five billion in ...
Children from violent homes show accelerated aging of chromosomes
A new Tulane University School of Medicine study finds that the more fractured families are by domestic violence or trauma, ...
Children and Hispanics at highest risk for fatty liver disease
Despite major gains in fighting hepatitis C and other chronic liver conditions, public health officials are now faced with a ...
Dad’s dietary folate intake affects fetal health, too
Don’t drink, limit coffee and take your daily vitamins – the laundry list of rules for expectant moms and women ...
