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.
Caution urged as DNA tests and genetic mapping advance
Genome mapping advances are on the agenda of the health informatics conference being held in Adelaide, with discussion focused on ...
Genetic secrets of the world’s toughest little bird
Scientists have revealed the genetic secrets of how a small bird, Parus humilis (ground tit) can survive in one of the ...
Scientist search for why DNA strands spontaneously break
Breaks in the double-strands of the DNA helix can spell trouble, destabilizing the genome and resulting in changes that drive ...
Scientist find genetic changes that may contribute to schizophrenia onset
Scientists from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have discovered rare genetic changes that may be responsible for ...
Researchers sequence genomes of microbe species beyond the lab
The tree of life is dominated by microbes, but many large branches remain uncharted because scientists have been historically restricted ...
Controlling destructive locusts by manipulating their genetics
Swarming locusts are among the most serious pests in the world and can be extremely destructive to agriculture. Understanding the ...
Artist demonstrates genetic similarities in composite portraits
We all learned the rules of inheritance in school: dominant outweight recessive. So if both your parents have brown eyes, ...
DNA backs American history of some dog breeds
Some South Carolina dogs still live in the wild, and local people have long thought they were one of the ...
Obesity gene makes you fat by keeping you hungry
If you can't resist that extra portion of dessert, maybe it is time to stop bemoaning your lack of willpower ...
Vast cancer genetics database could aid drug discovery
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., announced that they had assembled the world's largest database of cancer-related genetic variations -- ...
Gene therapy for baby born without immune system
Doctors re-engineered a girl's DNA using a ‘reprogrammed virus’ to splice in the vital gene she is missing into her ...
Spatial skills may be an early sign of creativity
A gift for spatial reasoning—the kind that may inspire a child to dismantle a clock—may be a greater predictor of ...
Better screening for deadly genetic diseases
One in 100 babies worldwide is born with a disease caused by a single gene, according to the World Health Organization ...
Is gene therapy coming of age?
Researchers are promising results from gene therapy trials for the treatment of two different rare diseases ...
Should we control sex to protect humanity’s future?
The more we know about the nature of reproduction, the more we can control it -- and our own future ...
DNA evidence leads to break in Boston Strangler case
Investigators said Thursday that they had linked the man believed by many to have been the Boston Strangler to DNA ...
Research suggests RNA stores more functional genome data than we thought
Contrary to the belief that a large percentage of the human genome contains “junk” material, a team of Australian scientists report they ...
You can’t patent human genes. So why are genetic testing companies getting sued?
Critics of human gene patents rejoiced last month when the nation’s highest court ruled that human genes can’t be patented. A company ...
Should we clone a mammoth?
Last week the most recently discovered carcass of a mammoth was revealed to the public in Yokohama, Japan. The female mammoth, ...
Testing of gene therapies expanding at Boston-area hospitals
Years after it was hyped, vilified for the death of a teenager, and then mostly forgotten by the general public, ...
Researchers suggest language may have evolved earlier than thought
Humans and Neanderthals share a common ancestor, likely Homo heidelbergensis, a species we diverged from as many as 400,000 years ago ...
Scientists look to revive the long-extinct passenger pigeon
Plans are afoot to bring back the extinct passenger pigeon via a weird-science process called de-extinction. The work is being spearheaded by ...
Researchers close in on better, faster ways to diagnose autism
A Canadian-led research team has identified several more genetic mutations that appear to be linked to autism spectrum disorder. The ...
Gene therapy using HIV helps children with fatal diseases, study says
Italian researchers have used a defanged version of HIV to replace faulty genes — and eliminate devastating symptoms — in children suffering ...
Rare mutation ignites race for cholesterol drug
The identification of woman with a rare gene mutation that results in astoundingly low LDL, or "bad," cholesterol levels has set off ...
Myriad Genetics sues competitors for patent infringement
Myriad genetics is suing two competitors for infringing on patents not covered by the Supreme Court's ruling on human gene ...
Researchers create compendium of RNA-binding sequences
Scientists know that much of what a gene does and produces is regulated after it is turned on. A gene ...
