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.
What causes stem cells to become harmful cancer cells? Scientists may have discovered the reason why
Stem cells hold great promise for the medicine of the future, but they can also be a cause of disease ...
Stem cells show promise as heart failure treatment
Scientists who used modified stem cells to rejuvenate damaged and aged heart cells from elderly heart failure patients say their ...
After media pressure, insurer relents, makes exception to pay for kids’ genetic tests
WellPoint Inc. says it will pay for DNA testing for three children to see whether they have inherited from their ...
The great gene-patent debate contines: Does it help or hinder research?
An ongoing legal battle over gene patents has led many scientists to ask whether such claims help or hinder research ...
Rewiring DNA circuitry may help treat asthma
Reprogramming asthma-promoting immune cells in mice diminishes airway damage and inflammation, and could potentially lead to new treatments for people ...
Why black athletes dominate the sprinting world
View the original article here: Why black athletes dominate the sprinting world ...
Vast gene study raises hope for colon cancer drugs
More than 200 researchers investigating colon cancer tumors have found genetic vulnerabilities that could lead to powerful new treatments. The ...
Want to fight wrinkles? Some south Floridians are trying the “stem cell makeover”
It’s fairly widely known that stem cells can mean life-saving treatments for deadly diseases. Now, they are being used in ...
The future is now: Gene therapy to take flight in Europe
After many years of crushed expectations, gene therapy could be close to a victory: a regulatory approval ...
Enzyme’s ability to ‘hop’ as it moves along DNA offers tips on epigenetic gene expression
UC Santa Barbara researchers' discovery of a variation of an enzyme's ability to "hop" as it moves along DNA, modifying ...
Can apple stem cells give women straight hair?
Apple stem cells from a rare Swiss apple, called the Uttwiler Spätlauber, are rich in hydrogen, phytonutrients, antioxidants, proteins and ...
Is Elvis in your children’s DNA future? Furor develops over possible use of ‘celebrity’ genes
A British artist’s plan to create a mouse with Elvis Presley’s DNA as part of a larger project to exploit ...
The healing power of stem cells: Clinic treats ailments with patient’s own stem cells
What if the body could heal itself? Physicians at Rejuv Medical in Sartell are using the patient’s own stem cells ...
Stem cells ‘boost kidney transplants’: Promising implications for the future of organ transplants
“Stem cells beat kidney rejection,” says BBC News. The broadcaster says that an injection of stem cells given alongside a ...
European regulators back western world’s first gene therapy drug
European regulators have recommended approval of the Western world's first gene therapy drug -- after rejecting it on three previous ...
Nanoscale scaffolds and stem cells show future promise for cartilage repair and joint pain
Johns Hopkins tissue engineers have used tiny, artificial fiber scaffolds thousands of times smaller than a human hair to help ...
Of flies and men: Scientists make interesting discovery of how flies regulate sex genes, could be important for humans in the future
What do you get when you dissect 10 000 fruit-fly larvae? A team of researchers led by the EMBL-European Bioinformatics ...
FDA balances costs, patient safety in the biologics and personalized medicine revolution
Sometimes what you see is not all you get. Whether or not you support healthcare reform, the implementation of any ...
Epigenetics III: Further look into epigenetics, evolution and the environment: How are they all connected?
In this article, James A. Shapiro, professor of microbiology, explains the genetic relationships between epigenetics, evolution and the environment ...
World’s first patient-initiated, crowdfunded genome sequencing project uncovers young child’s unknown genetic disease
The Rare Genomics Institute (RGI), a non-profit organization that uses genome sequencing and other biotechnology to help children with rare ...
Arizona statute on genetic testing has young boy’s future in limbo
Evan Serrano, of Arizona, has a rare degenerative disorder called Friedreich Ataxia. At least, that's what doctors think. But Evan's ...
World renowned in vitro fertilization pioneer says stem cell acceptance is on the rise in the US
Public acceptance of stem cell therapies has increased in recent years, with a renowned global expert believing Australians could be ...
Is IQ in the genes? The PC hypocrisy of intelligence studies.
In his new book, the brilliant psychologist James Flynn, of Otago University in New Zealand, has revealed that, for the ...
Tarnished medals: Will genetic engineering change the Olympics?
Will the Olympics as we know it survive genetic engineering? That seems to be the question behind a new opinion ...
Physicians need more education on personalized medicine
Consumers armed with genetic testing information from the likes of 23andMe and a whole host of gene testing companies are ...
Synthetic biology: New frontiers, and a DNA laser printer?
It’s been a good month for synthetic biology. A few weeks ago, in a great talk (on the concept of ...
Researchers identify mechanisms that allow embryonic stem cells to become any cell in the body
New research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds light on pluripotency—the ability of embryonic stem cells to renew themselves ...
