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.
Mechanical properties of stem cells can foretell what they will become
To become better healers, tissue engineering need a timely and reliable way to obtain enough raw materials: cells that either ...
Scientists deploy genetics in search for bigfoot
Scientists are turning to genetic testing to see if they can prove the existence of the elusive hairy humanoid known ...
Personalized genetic testing not ready says medical group
Getting personalized genetic tests that can pinpoint your risk of developing a number of diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's or ...
Central nervous system stem cells shed light on mechanism that controls cell division
Animals consist of many distinct cell types, all of which originate during development from a single cell: the fertilized egg ...
Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat Arthritis
A DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic ...
Does Transhumanism create new social relations?
After a near decade of following the spread of Transhumanism, I finally began a PhD project to find out some ...
What rights should you have to your own DNA?
Things you own: Your clothes. Your car. Your body parts. Your DNA? A new bill under consideration by the the ...
Scientists discover marker to identify, attack breast cancer stem cells
Breast cancer stem cells wear a cell surface protein that is part nametag and part bull's eye, identifying them as ...
New technique reveals unseen information in DNA code
Two modifications of cytosine, one of the four bases that make up DNA, look almost the same but mean different ...
New fetal DNA test detects Down syndrome
A simple blood test done on maternal serum early in the first trimester of pregnancy to determine if a baby ...
California considers DNA privacy law
California lawmakers are weighing a bill aimed at protecting their state's citizens from surreptitious genetic testing but scientists are voicing ...
Seeing color traced back to genetic mutations
Why do we see the colors we do? Some of it goes back to the types of color-absorbing pigments that ...
New approach to ‘spell checking’ gene sequences
A PhD student from CSIRO and the University of Queensland has found a better way to 'spell check' gene sequences ...
New drug shows we must overcome taboos about stem-cell research
I'll be the first to admit that stem-cell research, as we typically view it, troubles me in many ways. The ...
Placental stem cells with key therapeutic properties can be harvested
Scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) led by Vladimir Serikov, MD, PhD, and Frans Kuypers, PhD, report in ...
Decoding synthetic biology
Biology Professor Vincent Martin describes synthetic biology as applying principles of engineering to biology — understanding how different pieces work ...
Do genes really augur your future?
For some people, genes are key to predicting our future health. For others, genes as crystal balls are overhyped. Let's ...
Slew of rare DNA changes following population explosion may hold clues to common diseases
"This is a dramatic example of how recent human history has profoundly shaped patterns of genetic variation," said Joshua Akey, ...
Researchers untangle complex genetic processes underlying breast cancer
Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have begun to unravel the complex processes that cause breast cancer, identifying a ...
Rare DNA mutations raise questions about theories of disease
Rare DNA mutations are so plentiful in the human genome that they make it difficult to precisely identify the genetic ...
The influence of genes on psychological well-being
Genes play a greater role in forming character traits - such as self-control, decision making or sociability - than was ...
Clues to restore human fingers and toes via animal hair, feathers
In their review, researchers have shed light on possible routes that unlock cellular regeneration in general, and the principles by ...
By accident, scientists discover how commonest DNA replication error is corrected
Scientists have discovered the enzyme in our cells which corrects the most frequently occurring mistake in DNA as cells divide ...
Men can rest easy – sex chromosomes are here to stay
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), looked at how genes on sex-linked ...
The biology of political narcissism: Donkey brains vs. Elephant grey matter
Anti-Republican science writer Chris Mooney stirred a hornets nest of controversy with the publication of his recent book, The Republican ...
Stem cells boost brain tumor treatments for some patients, study finds
Patients with brain cancer may face devastating side effects from chemotherapy, but a new study offers a possible solution: stem ...
Human genes transplanted into zebrafish: Helps identify genes related to autism, schizophrenia and obesity
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to ...
