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.
Artwork highlights legal debate over ‘abandoned’ DNA
A provocative art project creates "facial reconstruction" sculptures based on DNA found on trash. Is it legal? ...
Scientists map duck genome to study bird flu
The following is an edited excerpt. Avian influenza or bird flu viruses are known to hide out in ducks, yet ...
Scientists identify gene for early puberty
The following is an edited excerpt. Central precocious puberty happens when a child hits puberty before age 9. Nutrition, environment ...
Stress really may turn your hair grey
The following is an excerpt. There could be some truth in the anecdotal belief that stress can turn your hair ...
The psychological perils of genetic testing
The following is an excerpt. From cancer to Alzheimer’s to diabetes, advances in genetic science mean that many of us ...
Epigentic mechanism linked to pediatric leukemia
The following is an edited excerpt. Changes in an epigenetic mechanism that turns expression of genes on and off may ...
Researchers track how one fruit fly gene became essential
The following is an edited excerpt The less a gene has mutated over the millions or billions of years of ...
Simple mutations could make bird flu more deadly
The following is an edited excerpt. Genetic mutations in two emerging "bird" flu viruses could turn them into potential sources ...
Genetic variant linked to variation in patient reponse to blood thinner
The following is an excerpt. The discovery of a genetic variation in some blacks that affects response to the blood ...
Discussion: Can human genes be owned?
The following is an excerpt. The Supreme Court is expected to decide soon whether human genes can be patented. The ...
Persistant RNA linked to mental disorders
The following is an excerpt. How do the faulty brain circuits involved in mental disorders such as autism or retardation ...
The genetic legacy of the conquistadors
The following is an edited excerpt. A few year ago there was a minor controversy when some evolutionary genomicists reported ...
No, this is not how the human face might look in 100,000 years
One artist’s vision of what humanity will look like in 100,000 years includes huge eyes and foreheads. Apparently, we’re all ...
Researchers find gene for rooster’s sex organ size
The following is an excerpt. Given the chicken’s agricultural importance, scientists long knew that, like 97% of bird species, roosters ...
Common genetic disease linked to paternal age
The following is an excerpt. Scientists at USC have unlocked the mystery of why new cases of the genetic disease ...
Scientists identify mutations associated with intelligence for first time
In the first study of its kind that has generated a reproducible result, researchers report on ten variations in DNA ...
Stem cells found in liposuctioned fat
The following is an excerpt. Liposuction has long epitomized unbridled vanity. Now those who undergo the procedure can claim to ...
The International Olympic Committee and the search for gene-doping test
The following is an edited excerpt. Anti-doping experts reported progress on Thursday, June 6, 2013 in the search for a ...
DNA ‘fog’ used to tag and track criminals
The following is an edited excerpt. For years banks have rigged bags of money with exploding dye packs, which show ...
New film about the geneticist who discovered BRCA1
The following is an edited excerpt. When Dr. Mary-Claire King, a geneticist at the University of Washington, learned Helen Hunt ...
Plans for a global trove of genetic data
The goal is to put the vast collection of data on genetic variations and health into databases open to researchers ...
Southern Europeans more African than thought
The following is an edited excerpt. Southern Europeans get a significant portion of their genetic ancestry from North Africa, new ...
The value of running genetic analysis on breastmilk
The following is an edited excerpt. The composition of breast milk varies from mother to mother, and genetic factors may affect the ...
Genetic testing to predict risk of tooth loss
The following is an edited excerpt. In a new study published online in the Journal of Dental Research, Dr. William Giannobile, ...
Should extinct species be revived via genetic technology?
The following is an excerpt. Last month, hundreds of experts who study human-environment interactions called on policymakers to take immediate ...
Scientists restore long-term memory to mice
The following is an excerpt. University of California-Irvine neurobiologists have discovered a protein complex in neurons that is essential to ...
After the Supreme Court’s DNA decision, what’s the future of criminal justice?
The following is an edited excerpt. “Law enforcement agencies routinely have used scientific advancements in their standard procedures for the identification ...
