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.
How brainless jellyfish are capable of learning
Cnidarians -- the animal group which includes jellyfish, sea anemones and coral -- are brainless, instead getting by with a ...
The evolution of cuteness (or why Ryan Gosling’s Ken has captured so many hearts worldwide)
The big idea: The question of how to trigger the cuteness response has implications beyond toys and movies ...
Are probiotics a scam, or can they really improve your gut microbiome and health?
Probiotics are "good" bacteria taken in the hope of improving health & change the bacteria that live in the gut, ...
8 ways to help you identify social media misinformation and AI imagery
How do you know what to trust: There are some basic tools everyone should use when consuming breaking news online ...
Could or should we use science to bring the Tasmanian tiger back from extinction?
CRISPR and the Tasmanian tiger: Resurrecting the species could help restore ecological balance in Australia ...
‘Genetic privacy does not exist in the US’: 23andMe data files hacked, exposing personal genetic information of up to 7 million of people
By now, you’ve probably heard that 23andMe was “hacked” by criminals who stole the data of up to 7 million ...
Modern humans co-existed with at least seven now extinct hominid ancestors, and in many cases integrated their DNA
Ancient DNA technology has revolutionized the way we study human history and has quickly taken off, with a constant stream ...
Search for elusive angel shark and growing revolutionary field of bio-tracking environmental DNA
Today, with the Natural Marine Park of Cap Corse and Agriate, we can find rare sea life without having to ...
Antidepressants vs. running: Which works better to fight depression?
Exercise has been dubbed "nature's antidepressant" by doctors for years, and now a new study confirms the notion ...
Reduction of COVID-19 deaths? Masks, lockdowns and social distancing may play a part but the only thing we know for sure is that vaccines worked
After vaccines became available, there were clear differences, with red states having higher death rates, almost certainly as a result ...
Sensitivity to pain may be linked to our inherited Neanderthal genes
Scientists are still not sure if carrying these ancient genetic variants and greater sensitivity to pain was an evolutionary advantage ...
A gym without trainers? Here’s how AI is already revolutionizing workouts
Wall-to-wall LED screens, algorithms, and motion tracking sensors allow Lumin Fitness to offer supervised workouts with no human interaction ...
Growing number of chaplains who help support the vulnerable exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy
Research on the therapeutic use of psychedelics is underway at several universities, and data continues to accumulate on how they may help ...
‘Democrats are trying to restart COVID hysteria’: Ideological clashes escalate with arrival of new booster shots
The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of updated booster shots to combat the recent uptick in COVID-19 infections can only ...
Brain atlas: First large-scale map of more than 3,000 human brain cells opens door to personalized medicine
We’re closer than ever to mapping the entire brain to the microscopic level. Hundreds of neuroscientists across the world recently ...
Zombie viruses: Record warming in the Arctic could revive ancient outbreaks
With the planet already 1.2C warmer than pre-industrial times, scientists are predicting the Arctic could be ice-free in summers by 2030s ...
Bionic system allows man with above-elbow amputation to control every finger of a robotic arm
Most bionic limbs are controlled by electrical signals generated by muscles moving near the attachment site. But when an arm is amputated ...
New book Eve explores ‘how bodies evolved, how they work and what it really means to be a woman’
What is a woman? In Eve, Cat Bohannon traces the development of female bodies back 200 million years. A writer with ...
When was North America colonized by prehistoric humans? These New Mexico fossils upend the timeline
Fossilized ancient footprints found at White Sands National Park humanize them, revealing the actions of their lives in ways that ...
From lambs to humans: Artificial wombs are on the horizon
A hairless, pale-skinned lamb lies on its side in what appears to be an oversized sandwich bag filled with hazy ...
COVID vaccine rejectionism and IQ: Swedish study concludes that people with higher cognitive ability are more likely to embrace vaccinations
We examine the relationship between cognitive ability and prompt COVID-19 vaccination using individual-level data on more than 700,000 individuals in ...
Only cats and a few other animals purr. Here’s the science of how they do it
Scientists have struggled to understand how cats produce a low-pitched rumbling sound when they purr, but a new study sheds ...
Viewpoint: Rep. Jim Jordan claims, without evidence, that universities and government agencies are colluding with tech companies to censor right-wing views
Academics, universities and government agencies are overhauling or ending research programs designed to counter the spread of online misinformation amid ...
Brain-computer interface: Elon Musk’s Neuralink venture hopes to dramatically increase communication. What’s he up to?
Elon Musk claimed that sticking electrodes in people’s heads is going to lead to a huge increase in the rate ...
Surprising consequence of dinosaur extinction: Helping flowers become a dominant form of plant life
When a mountain-size slab of space rock rammed into the Yucatán Peninsula 66 million years ago, the fallout was apocalyptic. Tsunamis washed away coastlines, ...
Is it possible to create a computer copy of a human brain? Europe spent more than $600 million to find out
It took 10 years, around 500 scientists and some €600 million, and now the Human Brain Project — one of ...
1 in 36 children have autism spectrum disorder: Lab-grown mini-brains are helping scientists unlock the mystery of neurodiversity
In a recent study published in Nature, a global team of researchers utilized advanced methods to probe the developmental intricacies of autism ...
