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.
DNA of cancer patients who exceptionally respond to drugs to become avenue for new treatments
The history of oncology is rife with reports of patients with advanced cancer who staged miraculous recoveries. Now scientists are ...
How much of our genome do we share with other organisms? Take this quiz.
Find out how much genetic material humans share with grapes, round worms and dogs ...
Inner life of your cells is controlled chaos
A new animated video sheds light on the jittery, jumbled inner lives of our cells. Carl Zimmer at the New ...
Pick the baby, then the mate?
A new computer technology allows potential parents to genetically screen sperm and egg donors for more than 600 conditions and ...
Publishing bird flu results remains controversial due to threat of biological weapon development
When does scientific research cause more harm than good? That question has been at the heart of controversy over what ...
Why embracing the “unnatural” can help us improve on—and preserve—nature
Can we improve on nature? Yes, argues agronomist Andrew McGuire, but he's only talking about farming. I take his argument ...
Physicists model how traits move through populations
What happens when physicists play (using mathematical instruments) with the genetics of populations? They may discover unexpected connections between migration ...
Dentist wants to clone John Lennon from tooth
A dentist who owns one of John Lennon's teeth is looking forward to the day when human cloning becomes sufficiently ...
BRCA1 linked to development of brain’s cortical layers
It is well known that females with a BRCA1 gene mutation are at a much higher risk of developing breast ...
New gene target may be hope for obesity treatments
Many who struggle with their weight will often blame a “slow” metabolism – meaning their bodies do not burn calories ...
Italy’s high court overturns donor gamete ban
Italy's constitutional court overturned a ban on using donor sperm and eggs in fertility treatments, knocking down part of a ...
Newborn genome sequencing: Would every newborn be a patient?
With cost and access decreasing, sequencing the genome of every child at birth could become part of standard newborn screenings ...
Increasing gene transcription factor causes organ to repair itself
Regenerative medicine—the idea that it is possible to revitalise old, dilapidated tissue and keep a body going when its organs ...
Stem cells may help treat stroke
Stem cells culled from bone marrow may prove beneficial in stroke recovery, scientists at UC Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross ...
Genes may influence how much we like exercise
It’s possible that some of us are born not to run. According to an eye-opening new genetics study of lab ...
Schizophrenics age faster, genetics play a roll
For decades, evidence has suggested that people with schizophrenia have shortened lifespans. In the early twentieth century, doctors observed that ...
Breastfeeding mother prosecuted for child’s death from genetic disorder
On Thursday last week, a South Carolina jury convicted Stephanie Greene, a 39-year old nurse, of killing her six-week-old daughter ...
MRSA’s genetics affect how toxic it will be
The spread of the antibiotic-resistant pathogen MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) remains a concerning public health problem, especially among doctors trying ...
Embattled STAP stem cell researcher: I’m not guilty of miscounduct, technique works
Stem cell scientist Haruko Obokata -- recently accused by her employer, Japan's prestigious RIKEN institute, of research misconduct -- has ...
Insurance and genetics: Primed for discrimination
It's currently illegal in the United States for employers and health insurance companies to discriminate based on genetic information, thanks ...
NIH’s Stem Cell program mysteriously shut down, only one study funded
Stem-cell researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been left frustrated and confused following the demise of ...
Greener paper through genetically engineered trees
Genetically engineered trees are easier to process into pulp, making tree farming less resource-intensive. The same techniques could be adapted ...
Call to end anonymous egg and sperm donation points to lack of fertility industry regulation
A renewed call to end the anonymity of egg and sperm donors hopes to provide donor-conceived kids with important health ...
Neanderthals and humans interbred longer than previously thought
Europeans may be closer to their Neanderthal cousins than was previously thought. Breeding with now-extinct Neanderthals is known to have ...
Promise of stem cells draws patients to un-licensed doctors with sometimes fatal effect
“If the doctor of a former president gave you the assurance that your daughter will be cured of cancer after ...
Put things off until tomorrow? Blame your genes
A study by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder has found that a tendency to procrastinate is affected ...
Teamwork and genetics uncover extremely rare diseases and patients who share them
In February 2013, Stanford geneticist Gregory Enns called the Wilsey family with news: He was "99 percent sure" that doctors ...
