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.
Researchers ID gene that encodes two proteins from one sequence of mRNA
The following is an excerpt. In a study that could change the way scientists view the process of protein production ...
Gene sleuths find how some naturally resist cholera
Researchers found that people of the Ganges Delta have adapted genetically to withstand cholera and arsenic ...
Pointing to breakthrough, human stem cells used to create tiny new livers
Organ transplant tissues created from stem cells have long been a medical hope. An international research team using human liver ...
Gene therapy cures severe pediatric neurodegenerative disease in animal models
The following is an excerpt. A single session of a gene therapy developed by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) ...
Vitamin C influence gene activity in stem cells
The following is an excerpt. A study of mouse stem cells reveals that vitamin C may play a role in ...
Gene sequencing of cholera bacterium from Haiti points to U.N. source
The following is an excerpt. The United Nations sent Nepalese peacekeeping troops to bring relief to Haiti after it was devastated by a ...
Ancient origin of hepatitis B viruses revealed by DNA fossils in bird genomes
The following is an excerpt. As the old adage goes; "One man's trash is another man's treasure": what has often ...
A tendency to be disliked? How genetics relate to peer rejection in school
The following is an excerpt. A lack of friends and poor peer relationships can have a damaging effect on children’s ...
Assay development driving personalized medicine
The following is an excerpt. On the first of this year, clinical laboratories began billing for more than 100 molecular ...
Genome instability studies could change treatment for cancer and other diseases
The following is an edited excerpt. As our cells grow, reproduce, and die, DNA is repeatedly replicated and repaired, and ...
The firms putting a copyright on cancer
The following is an edited excerpt. Myriad Genetics has, for decades, been seen as the symbol of genomic greed. Ever ...
Enhancer RNAs alter gene expression
The following is an excerpt. In a pair of distinct but complementary papers, researchers at the University of California, San ...
Checking DNA in the blood to diagnose heart problems
The following is an edited excerpt. When patients complain of chest pain, they have to undergo a time-consuming and expensive ...
Building the internet of genes
The global alliance to support secure sharing of genomic and clinical data represents potential for both tremendous good and unknown ...
Stanford scientists identify differences between old and young stem cells
The following is an edited excerpt. A new study done by researchers at Stanford has shown some remarkable epigenetic differences ...
Epigenetics study finds cancer risks double from exposure to “safe” levels of two carcinogens
The following is an excerpt. Science knows that arsenic and estrogen can cause cancer. At certain very low levels, the ...
A word of caution before the rush for genetic testing
The following is an edited excerpt. In striking down patents on human genes, the recent Supreme Court decision is widely ...
Gene defect ‘switched off’ in human tissue
Scientists have for the first time been able to switch on and off the effects of a genetic disease, myotonic dystrophy, ...
Britain moves toward “three-parent” IVF babies
Three-parent IVF could head off inherited mitochondrial disease in babies in Britain ...
Forensic partial DNA profiles provide important but controversial information
The following is an excerpt. Forensic scientists can now construct a partial DNA profile from just a few cells, says David ...
Researchers suggest ways to maximize delivery of siRNA
The following is an excerpt. Nanoparticles that deliver short strands of RNA offer a way to treat cancer and other ...
DNA transfer in human eggs prevents disease
The following is an excerpt. Scientists have for the first time transferred DNA between human eggs. The success at Newcastle ...
700,000-year-old horse genome shatters record for sequencing of ancient DNA
The following is an excerpt. By piecing together the genetic information locked inside a frozen, fossilized bone, scientists have deciphered ...
The key to female longevity is in the genes
The following is an excerpt. Across countries and species, females live longer than males. It’s true in Canada, where a ...
James Watson: ‘DNA was my only gold rush’
The following is an edited excerpt. Having shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery with Crick and Maurice Wilkins in ...
‘Don’t touch my junk DNA!’ says gene signal sequence
The following is an edited excerpt. Almost all of the human genome is made of noncoding, or "junk" DNA, that ...
UCSF study identifies thousands of previously unknown RNA molecules
The following is an excerpt. A new UC San Francisco study highlights the potential importance of the vast majority of ...
