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.
Chemicals affect sperm health, now we know how
Additives known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) compromise male fertility by interfering with a membrane-bound calcium channel that normally controls ...
Bacteria in lungs may protect humans from developing asthma
Human cells are outnumbered ten-to-one by the microbes that thrive in and on us. Now a study finds that the ...
Humans’ love of watching animals is hardwired
Humans derive pleasure watching animals in zoos, nature and in popular culture. Beyond their uses as food sources and domestic ...
Oldest fossil sperm is huge, poses evolutionary conundrum
Scientists find sperm inside 17-million-year-old shrimp -- but it's not just any sperm. It's longer than the animals that made ...
Do we need regulation for coming brain augmentation technologies?
If you could permanently change your brain to work better, would you? Or, maybe more importantly, would you have the ...
Short men live longer thanks to FOXO3 gene
It's nice to be tall, right? Sure, it's great... unless you want to become an astronaut, or a horse jockey, ...
Stem cell generated neurons from schizophrenics develop abnormally
Using new stem cell technology, scientists at the Salk Institute have shown that neurons generated from the skin cells of ...
Gene changes, diabetes continuing legacy of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge
Cambodia’s diabetes clinics are overflowing. On its surface, it looks like little more than another country’s growing pains as it ...
Some experts find ethical uncertainty in artificial DNA
Artificial DNA, recently successfully implemented in a living cell by California scientists, presents more ethical concerns than opportunities for medicine, ...
Skin microbiomes differ largely between cultures, more diverse sampling is needed
Microbial samples taken from populations living in the U.S. and Tanzania reveal that the microbiome of the human hand is ...
Will FDA regulations force US direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies overseas?
23andMe is reportedly looking to enter international markets. Will they find their international hosts' regulatory structure as unfriendly as the ...
Rumors of junk DNA’s death greatly exaggerated
A new paper in PLOS Genetics presents a compelling case for why "junk DNA" is still a useful concept, despite ...
Fragile X gene linked to autism also affects adiction
In a paper published in the latest issue of the neuroscience journal Neuron, McLean Hospital investigators report that a gene ...
Non-chromosomal DNA matters for expression of traits
In 2003, when the human genome had been sequenced, many people expected a welter of new therapies to follow, as ...
New brain cells can hurt learning ability
For anyone fighting to save old memories, a fresh crop of brain cells may be the last thing they need ...
Challenges to sequencing microbiomes: sample collection is the easy part
I have fun thinking about the few pounds of bacteria in and on my body— which bacteria live there, how ...
Mathematician uses genetics in algorithm to find best drug targets for cancer
The way in which people receive cancer therapy is pretty much the same as it's been for decades: researchers determine ...
Immunotherapy hype: Are biotech companies overshooting clinical evidence?
The business of oncology drugs that use a patient's own immune system to fight cancer is growing rapidly. But is ...
New bill allows blood spots from newborn genetic screenings to be kept indefinitely
Minnesota will once again allow blood spots to be kept and used for further research following routine newborn screening of ...
Cultural timing hurts and benefits Wade’s new book on genetics of race
The paradox of racism is that at any given moment, the racism of the day seems reasonable and very possibly ...
Energy centers of immune cells decreased in children with autism
Children with autism experience deficits in a type of immune cell that protects the body from infection. Called granulocytes, the ...
Dad’s faulty genes and mom’s silent ones responsible in Prader-Willi Syndrome
Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have reported a major breakthrough in understanding the molecular basis for Prader-Willi syndrome ...
To Mom: Thanks for the genes
Mother’s Day is a day of appreciation, of gratitude, and of guilt. Guilt for all the things I put my ...
One man’s junk: What non-coding DNA really means
Genomes are like books of life. But until recently, their covers were locked. Finally we can now open the books ...
Stem cell trial for stroke shows potential for lasting benefits
People who received the world's first stem cell treatment for strokes have shown measurable reductions in disability and handicap a ...
FDA ethically off base in opposition to direct-to-consumer genetic testing
Bioethicist argues that regulating direct-to-consumer genetic testing violates personal autonomy and protects against nothing ...
Scientists add new letters to genetic alphabet: What does it mean?
A 15-year effort has yielded a bacterium that can use two 'alien' base pairs in its genetic code, expanding the ...
