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.
Genetic descrimination claims on the rise
New lawsuits mark stepped up enforcement of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. How are employers adapting? ...
DNA superstorage: Apocalypse-proofing the world’s data
In terms of information density, DNA outclasses anything we’ve been able to invent. Two scientists think all the world's information ...
Bioethics and the control of personal genetic information
Here’s a hypothetical: you’re walking down the street, casually smoking a cigarette or drinking a cup of freshly brewed coffee ...
Unreliability of genome assembly contest results prompts soul-searching
In July 2011, as part of a "Assemblathon" contest, 21 teams submitted 43 attempts to build assemblers to assemble three ...
Scientist create stem cells without genetic manipulation
Scientists demonstrate a new way to reprogram adult tissue to become cells like embryonic stem cells, without using genes ...
Stop blaming genetics for your weight
The 21st century is the century of excuses. People don’t like being held accountable for their actions and like to blame their ...
Rare genetic changes linked to schizophrenia
Rare genetic changes that may be responsible for the development of schizophrenia have been identified by scientists at the Centre for Addiction ...
Controlling genes with light
Although human cells have an estimated 20,000 genes, only a fraction of those are turned on at any given time, ...
A lesson in ethics from the synbio DIYers
DIYBio is a global collective of ordinary people who like experimenting in their spare time with chemicals they’ve ordered over ...
Stem cells reprogrammed using chemicals alone
Scientists have demonstrated a new way to reprogram adult tissue to become cells as versatile as embryonic stem cells — ...
Gene mutation in dogs could offer clues about neural tube defects in humans
A new study shows that gene mutations in dogs could offer some clues regarding neural tube defects in humans. According ...
The statistics of genetic variation
You have probably heard or read that most genetic variation is within races, not between races. This assertion has led, in my opinion, to unwarranted inferences ...
Researchers identify siRNA that might fight herpes
A molecule that could potentially be used to fight herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) has been discovered by Curtin University scientists ...
New functions for autoimmune disease gene identified
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified infection-fighting and inflammation-suppressing functions for a gene associated with human autoimmune disease ...
Genetic screening: Every newborn a patient
This year marks the 50th anniversary of routine newborn screening in the United States. Since 1963, tens of millions of ...
X chromosome may control male fertility
Researchers have found that the X (i.e."female") chromosome contains scores of genes that define male-only traits ...
Crops that can genetically modify their pests
Imagine a future in which genetically engineered plants are able to genetically engineer -- and thereby defeat -- their own ...
Mathematical models target disease with drugs chosen by your DNA
Medicines that are personally tailored to your DNA are becoming a reality, thanks to the work of U.S. and Chinese ...
The inbred lineage you can improve
Thanks to the efforts of geneticists the story of the extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs is now well known. They are in short a ...
Alzheimers gene data a windfall for patients and researchers
This week, the Alzheimer’s Association announced a plan to make gene sequencing data available to dementia researchers around the globe. Meanwhile, a ...
How much does genetics dictate your mood and mindset?
Optimism and pessimism are not purely genetic: we have some control over our perception of the world ...
What makes some people so smart?
After being identified early as a science prodigy, Zhao Bowen raced through China’s special programs for gifted students and won ...
Researchers publish complete description of gene expression in the human retina
Investigators at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have published the most thorough description of gene expression in ...
Breast cancer gene patents: the Canadian story
Last week, a Salt Lake City-based company, Myriad Genetics, filed patent infringement suits in Utah court alleging two other U.S ...
Researchers sequence all genes in a cancer-cell database
The latest map of all the genes involved in a set of tumor cells exposes which mutations drive cancer and ...
How artificial chromosomes could transform humanity
Normally, an extra pair of chromosomes would be considered dangerous. But what if we could design our own? According to ...
Shutting down the extra chromosome in Down’s syndrome
Researchers have shut down the third, extra, Down's-syndrome-causing copy of the 21st chromosome in human cells ...
