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.
Evolutionary big bang triggered by multiple events
The Cambrian explosion, the evolutionary "big bang" that led to the emergence of a trove of complex life forms, was ...
Genome sequencing one million times cheaper than ten years ago
In 2003, the Human Genome Project announced an enormous scientific breakthrough. Scientists had sequenced the entire human DNA code—200 million ...
Genome sequencing standards needed
Two recent initiatives promise to deliver much-needed standards for the genomics community. Last year, the National Institute of Standards and ...
Scientists discover origins of “dark matter” in human genome
Non-coding RNA is the "dark matter" of the genomic world. It doesn't contain the blueprint for making proteins, and yet ...
A genome-forward approach to tackling drug-resistant cancers
If you really want to understand why a particular human cancer resists treatment, you have to be able to study ...
Defanged HIV a positive for gene therapy
The scientific community witnessed an unexpected medical breakthrough last year, when a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was treated ...
Genetically-engineered parasite could serve as malaria vaccine
Malaria parasites weakened through precise gene deletions could be used as a vaccine to protect against malaria infection, according to ...
Evolution has a simple genetic skeleton
Genetics can seem complex, especially theoretical evolutionary models. But the reality is that these models are ultimately grounded in a ...
Southern Ocean genetic sampling reveals travels of marine microbes
By collecting water samples up to six kilometres below the surface of the Southern Ocean, UNSW researchers have shown for ...
It’s September, get informed: patenting human DNA or not?
Oyez, oyez! Your second week of Supreme Court schooling is about to begin. For those of you who missed my ...
Genetic condition often misdiagnosed as autism
Up to half of children with a genetic disorder are mistakenly diagnosed with autism, and the treatment can make the ...
Oxitec’s GM olive fly first GM insect to undergo field evaluations in EU
Oxitec has developed a GM olive fly that could be a tool in ending the devastation that olive flies bring ...
Conservationists push for biobanking of Australia’s wildlife
Australia is ill-equipped to preserve and protect its threatened native wildlife and a national gene bank should be established urgently, ...
Girl who feels no pain could inspire new painkillers
A girl who does not feel physical pain has helped researchers identify a gene mutation that disrupts pain perception. The ...
How a heat-seeking bacterium enabled the genetics revolution
Hudson Freeze might have a chilly last name, but this week he's being honored for finding something hot. Freeze currently directs the ...
Tiger genome shows big cats evolved to kill
The first sequenced tiger genome shows that big cats evolved to kill. Genes for strong muscle fibers and for meat-eating appear narrowly shared, ...
NIH approves first uses of HeLa genome
A US National Institutes of Health (NIH) committee approved the first uses of genomic data from the HeLa cell line on 16 ...
Gene networks predict cancer prognosis
Better cancer treatments can be found by studying the genetic networks they involve, according to a study published Sunday by UC San ...
Early-stage embryo chemicals broadcast genetic health information to the uterus
It is important for the lining of the womb to know if an embryo is healthy before allowing it to ...
First hint that lifestyle changes may reverse cellular aging
A study with a tiny sample size shows that exercise, diet, and meditation can actually increase telomere length in prostate ...
Crime-scene DNA extracted from single hair
You wouldn't expect forensic teams to waste valuable evidence. But it happens all the time, though perhaps not for much ...
Scientists show that Jurassic Park couldn’t happen
Even when they used the best DNA sequencing methods known, researchers couldn't extract ancient DNA from amber-preserved insects ...
DNA identification can be too expensive for governments that need it
When the remains of victims of political conflict or natural disasters are so badly damaged that they cannot be identified ...
Click to “like” my genome: Home genetic testing goes social
Remember the Activision game Pitfall!, back in the ‘80s? Your guy ran through a blocky two-dimensional jungle, swinging on a ...
Study shows diet and exercise changes increase cell telomere length
It’s not quite the Fountain of Youth, but it may be the river that leads to it. In a paper ...
NYTimes op-ed illustrates misguided view of a “right” to reproduce
In a recent New York Times editorial, Sarah Richards raised some provocative questions as to whether fertility treatment should be ...
You may be a patchwork of genomes
A single body, a single genome: that's the rule. Or it was. Researchers are finding that many perfectly healthy individuals ...
