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.
Black Plague’s quirky genetics, 700 years later
The Black Death ravaged the European population, but some survived due to a genetic mutation also implicated in HIV infection ...
Modern genetics undermines neat boundaries of species
Christopher Kemp at Popular Science shows us how genetics can turn one species of bat into seven, all from within ...
Species catalogs may need resorting based on genetics
Deep within the labyrinthine interior of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, at the end of a cluster ...
Extinct heath hen may see resurrection on Martha’s Vineyard
The last heath hen died on Martha’s Vineyard in 1932. Despite an Islandwide effort to save the last living member ...
Hummingbirds continue rapid diversification into new species
Hummingbirds took just 22 million years to diversify from a single common ancestor into 338 tiny, colourful species. And they ...
Rare mutations found to cause congenital heart defects
Through exome sequencing and functional assays, researchers led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's Matthew Hurles uncovered rare variants linked ...
Epigenetic studies provide intriguing results, but are hard to replicate
Obesity may be written not only in the genes, but also on top of them. One of the largest studies ...
Synthetic protein halts bacterial infection
Between vaccine refusal, drug resistant strains of bacteria, and the growing ranks of the immuno-compromised, it sometimes seems that we ...
MicroRNA biomarkers could provide advance warning of heart attack
Heart attacks could in future be predicted days in advance using a wearable blood monitor, new research suggests. Scientists have ...
Neanderthal link to fat metabolism in the brain
Modern humans of European descent have a lot in common with their Neanderthal ancestors when it comes to genes related ...
Era of designer plants and animals edges closer with creation of synthetic yeast
A manmade yeast chromosome seems a far cry from designer animals and humans, but it’s a huge step forward in ...
Mitochondria may be impaired in vets with Gulf War Sydrome
Doctors have struggled for decades to find a cause for a host of debilitating health problems experienced by veterans of ...
Recent stories got it wrong–Rats not exonerated from causing Black Plague
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Scholars have debated the ...
Investigation finds acid bath stem cell scientist guilty of misconduct
A committee investigating problems in papers claiming a method to apply stress to create embryonic like cells has found the ...
Brain implants may help monitor neurological problems, address depression and Parkinson’s
Helen Shen at Nature chronicles a new class of deep brain implant that not only helps treat Parkinson's but may, ...
What does it means to donate your genetics but not be a father?
It’s not unheard-of for a lesbian couple to ask a close male friend to donate; but I’d naively assumed that ...
CRISPR editing technique could reverse disease symptoms in living animals
Using a new gene-editing system based on bacterial proteins, MIT researchers have cured mice of a rare liver disorder caused ...
Ancient viral DNA may play key role in how human stem cells work
A significant portion of our genetic material is comprised of holdovers from viral infections long ago. Now it seems like ...
New guidelines for patients who opt-out of DNA screens too limiting
The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics updated their policies to let patients decide if they want to participate ...
Two scientists’ quests for immortality is the subject of new documentary
A pair of advocates—they do legitimate research too, but their ardor is so intense, it’s hard to call them scientists—believe ...
Stem cell hope for heart failure
Stem cells injected directly into heart muscle can help patients suffering from severe heart failure by improving an ailing heart's ...
RNA-based nanomedicines arrive at cancer clinics
Researchers recently reported multidrug delivery using nanoparticles to mediate resistance in relapsing cancers and to improve triple-negative breast cancer treatment ...
DNA evidence suggests Black Plague not a rodent problem
Archaeologists and forensic scientists who have examined 25 skeletons unearthed in the Clerkenwell area of London a year ago believe ...
Epigenomic boom over hyped?
Epigenetics promises to explain the relationships between our genes and environments, but some scientists argue it may be going too ...
Spending a day with biotech pioneer Edwin Southern
A knock at the cottage door yields no answer. A light is on, but nobody seems to be home. Down ...
Virus and gene interaction speed Type 1 diabetes development
Rotavirus can accelerate the development of type 1 diabetes in children by getting rogue immune cells to attack the pancreas, ...
Cosmos continues to stir up creationists
The latest episode of Cosmos, devoted to explaining the nature of space, time, and the speed of light, presented a ...
