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.
Clinic taps patients’ own stem cells to ease their pain
A Sartell doctor offers a stem cell treatment instead of surgery, but critics say it's too soon. The trend has ...
The DNA Olympics — Jamaicans win sprinting ‘genetic lottery’ — and why we should all care
Jon Entine, author of Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We’re Afraid to Talk About It,” takes stock ...
Study uses stem cells to boost red blood cell production
Using human stem cells, scientists have developed methods to boost the production of red blood cells, according to a new ...
The DNA Olympics- Jamaicans win sprinting ‘genetic lottery’- and why we should all care
Jon Entine takes stock of the DNA London Olympics–where, as usual, African-descended athletes swept the running events while whites and ...
Scientists find the stem cells that drive our creativity
A newly-discovered type of stem cell could be the key to higher thinking in humans, research suggests. Scientists have identified ...
Stem cells may help prevent post-injury arthritis
Researchers may have found a promising stem cell therapy for preventing osteoarthritis after a joint injury. Injuring a joint greatly ...
New prenatal testing can detect more genetic problems
A new method of prenatal testing that can detect more genetic problems in a fetus than ever before could be ...
Genetic testing for a ‘gay’ gene: Is it a possibility?
For the most part, when you think of genetic testing, you usually think of a situation in which the parents ...
Genetic variant may drive body tremors
A genetic mutation may be responsible for essential tremor that runs in families, researchers found. Exome sequencing studies of several ...
Stem cell research begins for spinal cord injury repair
The state's stem-cell institute has awarded $20 million to UC Irvine researchers, along with a private company, to prepare the ...
Vitamin-boosted stem cells show promise in curing baldness
A team of researchers in Japan has discovered that VD3, a super-active form of Vitamin D, boosts stem cells to ...
Epigenetics in action: Experience alters DNA expression
It was long thought that methylation, a crucial part of normal organism development, was a static modification of DNA that ...
Identically different: Why you can change your genes
The Olympic Isle on opening night was "full of noises, / Sounds, and sweet airs that give delight and hurt ...
French book examines why black sprinters dominate the Olympics
Ever since American runner Jesse Owens took the 1936 Berlin Olympics by storm, black athletes have generally reigned supreme in ...
Doom and DNA: Why we shouldn’t always overreact when it comes to DNA- Positive advances in genetic testing
While society should be careful about its uses of genetic testing and its efforts to modify the genome, some people ...
Why ‘race’ matters in determining who is the fastest man on earth
Lightning-quick reactions. In most sports, they form the foundation of victory. Nowhere is this more cut and dry than in ...
Malaria genome provides treatment roadmap
Genetic variability revealed in malaria genomes newly sequenced by two multi-national research teams points to new challenges in efforts to ...
Can genetic testing tell you about your child’s Olympic future?
As I watch the Olympics this week I’m particularly interested in the stories about some of the athletes as kids, ...
Epigenetics discovery aids prostate cancer diagnosis
A lot of attention has been placed on the genetics of cancer, including looking at the mutations that occur that ...
How do brain stem cells know when to act?
Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have figured out how stem cells found in a part of the ...
Genes tell intricate tale of Jewish diaspora
A new genetic map paints a comprehensive picture of the 2,000 or so years in which different Jewish groups migrated ...
Can there be a reality of genetically modified Olympians?
There have been "marathon mice", "Schwarzenegger mice" and dogs whose wasted muscles were repaired with injected substances that switch off ...
Synthetic biology expands beyond bacteria
Synthetic biology is getting a boost. So far, most researchers have designed their synthetic circuits using transcription factors found in ...
Scientists work to develop human organs from stem cells
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have teamed up with their counterparts all over the world, working to develop human ...
Human stem cells found to restore memory
A California biotech company announced that its human stem cells restored memory in rodents bred to have an Alzheimer's-like condition—the ...
Genetics test reveals your cat’s ancestry
Ever wondered whether your feline hails from eastern Asia or the eastern Mediterranean? No need to rack your brain anymore ...
Explaining obesity: Diet, lifestyle or genes?
Modern lifestyles are quite different from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. That seems obvious. People looking to apply blame for ...
