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 create single-gene knockout library
Using a technique called “gene trapping,” researchers have built a library of haploid human cell lines. The collection includes more ...
Would Golden Rice save lives in developing countries?
Following the recent destruction of Golden Rice field trials in the Philippines, the New York Times' Amy Harmon narrates the ...
Big horns clash with longevity in sheep
Alpha Red 78 — a ram with horns like elephant tusks — sired 95 lambs before he died at the ripe ...
New H7N7 bird flu strain discovered that could pose threat to humans
A new strain of bird flu that can infect and kill animals has been found in chickens at live poultry ...
Teaching doctors about genomics
A video training program currently in development may help teach doctors how to use genetic test results in everyday care ...
“Fossil viruses” in the human genome
Less than 2 per cent of our genome is actually coding. The rest of the genome is a veritable graveyard ...
Heart attack damage repaired using gene therapy
Heart attacks cause cells in the affected area to stop beating and become encased in scar tissue, but researchers believe ...
The tiny genes that control heartbeats
The regular heartbeats of humans and fruit flies both depend on tiny genes that have gone unnoticed because of their ...
The stress and cancer link: how a stress gene may help cancer spread
In an unexpected finding, scientists have linked the activation of a stress gene in immune-system cells to the spread of ...
As prenatal testing for Down syndrome increases, so do concerns about genetic counseling
Noninvasive prenatal tests provide early-pregnancy information about genetic abnormalities. Can genetic counseling keep pace? ...
Longest-living bat holds clues to longevity
The longest-living bat species may owe its exceptional life span, at least in part, to its genes, a new study ...
Mouse skin cells transformed into viable eggs, sperm, and baby mice
After a decade of work, the two biologists have developed a way to turn mice's skin cells into "pre-egg" and ...
Does genetics explain height differences among Indians?
Recent research has shown that there is a clear correlation between state domestic product and average height. Yet data on ...
Companies monopolize genetic data, even without gene patents
In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patents on genes were invalid. Yet corporate intellectual-property claims can still harm ...
Tuberculosis genome shows why it’s a wildly successful pathogen
Tuberculosis (TB) is a wildly successful pathogen. It infects up to two billion people in every corner of the world, ...
Alcohol dependence and bulimia may share common genetic risk factors
People who suffer from alcohol addiction may be more vulnerable to certain types of eating disorders – and vice versa ...
The flaws of familial DNA matching
It’s always been true that a family member’s guilty conscience could be a criminal’s ultimate downfall. Now, thanks to familial ...
Dentist buys John Lennon’s tooth at auction in hope of creating a clone
Dr. Michael Zuk didn’t blow $30,000 on John Lennon’s tooth for its medical significance or second-hand value. When the Canadian dentist purchased ...
Nobel laureate: Personalized medicine is already here
Professor Aaron Ciechanover, a faculty member of the Ruth and Bruce Faculty of Medicine and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2004), ...
DNA tests can’t distinguish identical twins on rape charge
A pair of identical twins who cannot be told apart by their DNA have both appeared in court charged over ...
Multiple genes manage how people taste sweeteners
Genetics may play a role in how people's taste receptors send signals, leading to a wide spectrum of taste preferences, ...
Genetically-modified bacteria could help mass produce hookworm drugs
Researchers have produced a protein that kills parasitic intestinal worms, by genetically engineering a bacterium similar to those used in ...
Gene expression profiling study finds biomarkers related to suicide risk
Researchers may one day be able to use RNA biomarkers in the blood to identify suicide risk ...
Fewer US citizens see stem cell research and IVF as moral issues
Regardless of their views about the legality of abortion, most Americans think that having an abortion is a moral issue ...
US health insurer to require genetic counseling before allowing BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests
Cigna Corp. will become the first U.S. health insurer to require genetic counseling nationwide before it pays for tests for hereditary ...
Autism is shared among siblings, study finds
A second child is seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism if an older sibling has the diagnosis, but environmental ...
India’s doubting fathers and sons embrace DNA paternity tests
The increasing availability of DNA paternity tests in India may lead to a number of ethical conundrums ...
