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.
Do criminal DNA databases go too far?
When the state of New York expanded its DNA database last year, I didn’t give it much thought. After all, ...
Cancer cells evolve to outwit body defenses
Cancer is a disease of information, in which a cell becomes reprogrammed into a precision killing machine. In the consensus ...
Project BabySeq to test how knowing your genome from birth changes your life
Brigham and Women’s Hospital's Robert Green wants to know how having your complete genome sequenced at birth changes the course ...
Biological clocks in our cells may make some more prone to cancer
Every cell in your body has a little clock ticking away in it, researchers report. And while most of you ...
What’s the real origin of the phrase “Junk DNA”?
As textbooks would have it, the term “junk DNA” was coined in 1972 by Susumu Ohno as part of his ...
Scanning genomes for recent human evolution
Continuing the unveiling of our top ten papers selected from the papers published in PLOS Biology over the last decade, ...
Adolescence: When drinking and genetics may collide
Many negative effects of drinking, such as transitioning into heavy alcohol use, often take place during adolescence and can contribute ...
Scientists change an organism’s entire genome
In an advance that could help battle disease and create new biotech materials, researchers at Yale and Harvard universities have ...
Genetics-based matchmaking services spring up in Canada
Scenario: you’re on a blind date and so far, so fairy tale. Your date has a great job, drives a ...
How do traits trickle down from grandparents to grandchildren? Partially by chance.
Personal genome sequencing allows us to take a closer look at inheritance and highlights the situations in which genetic and ...
New app allows users to access their genetic info from smartphone
A new smartphone app, developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University, will allow individuals who’ve had their genome sequenced to ...
Epigenetics: How to alter your genes
For decades we’ve all been told: you are what you eat. You are what you drink. You are how much, ...
Inside 23andme founder Anne Wojcicki’s $99 DNA revolution
There's a lot you can do for your child with 99 dollars. I took that money and got my daughter's ...
“Find and Replace” across an entire genome
It couldn’t be easier to make sweeping edits on a computer document. If I were so inclined, I could find ...
Difference in gene regulation between humans and chimps more complex than thought
Changes in gene regulation have been used to study the evolutionary chasm that exists between humans and chimpanzees despite their ...
New fossil suggest ancient human ancestors the same species: Homo erectus
The spectacular fossilised skull of an ancient human ancestor that died nearly two million years ago in central Asia has ...
Genetic analysis shows “Yeti” is actually a polar bear hybrid
Aw, shucks. Science goin’ off and ruining everything again for cryptozoologists. The latest blow comes from a UK geneticist who ...
Does finding cancer mutations lead to cures?
We don't have drugs to treat most cancer mutations. So how does hunting for mutations help? ...
Being a good Samaritan could be influenced by genetics
Everyone knows the biblical parable of the good Samaritan. A new study suggests that a single variation in a specific ...
Craig Venter working on device that could send DNA over the internet
Craig Venter, who created the world’s first synthetic life, is working on a “DNA box” that could transport genetic sequences ...
Tangled ethics of preimplantation genetic testing
During her third summer of life, my oldest daughter had three broken bones - a broken arm in June, a ...
Gene therapy trial: Virus could help damaged hearts
Some days 50-year-old David Palmer can barely get out of bed and walk to the bathroom as his heart is ...
Data-driven medicine: understanding the link between genetics and disease
From Google to Facebook and GCHQ to the NSA, every day we hear more about the lengths to which organizations ...
Talking with kids about genetics
Last week, I had the opportunity to talk with a group of students from Grandview Heights School in Edmonton, Canada. The ...
Post Supreme Court ruling, Quest to offer genetic test for breast cancer risk
Quest Diagnostics Inc on Tuesday became the largest U.S. company to start offering gene-based tests for inherited forms of breast ...
There’s much more to IQ than biology and DNA
Genetics doesn't matter more than teaching. Nature doesn't matter more than nurture does. They both contribute to intelligence ...
Gene and stem cell therapy could speed up wound healing
Even though there are effective medications and therapy for healing wounds, the recovery process can still be slow. In a ...
