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.
Could a vaccine permanently protect us from heart disease? CRISPR gene editing poised to provide healthcare solutions for most everyone
Last year, Verve Therapeutics started the first human trial of a CRISPR treatment that could benefit most people—a signal that ...
Two science-based sides to the ‘vaccine debate’? Let’s review the evidence
Are there two sides in the vaccine debate? ...
6-9 minutes: Daily vigorous exercise for even a short time helps insulate against cognitive decline, study finds
What if you could look at all the things you do daily — walking from room to room, preparing a ...
Will evolution phase out redheads from the human gene pool?
Redheads aren’t going extinct. Here’s why. Be it ginger, auburn or strawberry blonde, red hair is here to stay, say ...
CRISPR gene editing scientist who illegally manipulated embryos wants to cure genetic diseases. Should the scientific community trust him?
He Jiankui discusses his plans for finding cures for devastating genetic diseases. Should the scientific community trust him? ...
Are humans still evolving? 155 new genes identified that suggest we’re still being shaped by our environment
We may have parted ways with our primate cousins millions of years ago, but a new study shows just how ...
‘We’ve found 1-in-a-million type of cancers’: A common prenatal blood test accidentally identifies rare tumors
An expectant mother's bloodstream doesn't just contain bits of free-floating DNA associated with the fetus. It's also chock full of ...
Anti-vaccine beliefs stoke growing cases of measles and chickenpox in the US
Growing vaccine hesitancy fuels measles, chickenpox resurgence in U.S. Anti-vaccine sentiment has increased since the pandemic, driven by politicization around ...
Do you drink alcohol or smoke tobacco? Your genes may play a role
Study reveals that some people could be genetically predisposed to consuming alcohol and tobacco Research shows that, while cultural influence ...
Squid and human brains: Despite 500 million years of divergent evolution, their complex brain development remains similar
Squid and human brains develop the same way despite diverging 500 million years ago ...
Fading memory from early dementia? Deep brain stimulation might help
Researchers are studying whether deep brain stimulation could help people with Alzheimer's hold on to their memory longer, and now ...
Science or ideology: What’s behind the ongoing debate over masks to limit the spread of viruses?
What the never-ending mask debate is really about — Hint: It's not the science ...
Meet the women who described, named, and brought long COVID into the light
Years into the pandemic, scientists are still trying to understand long COVID ...
CRISPR gene editing is in clinical trials to treat sickle cell disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS and some rare inherited diseases. Here’s what we can expect going forward
When Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier revealed that the bacterial Crispr–Cas9 antiviral defence system could be reprogrammed to edit genomic ...
Are you good at perceiving other people’s perspectives? Women score higher than men on ‘cognitive empathy’ test
Females score higher than males on the widely used 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' Test, study shows ...
Last year, we saw the first successful pig-human organ transplant. When will replacing diseased human organs with animal substitutes become a larger reality?
This year, surgeons transplanted the first pig organs into human recipients. Researchers are keen to launch more human trials ...
2022 in genetics: 8 discoveries that are changing our understanding of the world
From big discoveries that moved the field forward to work that improved upon existing findings, here are some of the ...
It’s been 25 years since the release of the dystopian film GATTACA. How close are today’s scientific advances to the film’s ‘futuristic’ technologies?
It has been 25 years since the release of GATTACA, a film that tells the story of a credible near ...
Viewpoint: ‘Scientific debate has been weaponized’ — Hospitals offering gender-affirming treatments for transgender patients face regular threats
Recently, testimony wrapped up in a trial focused on Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming care, and advocates are eagerly awaiting a verdict ...
Deepfakes: AI-generated photos can create fake “proof” of almost anything — from cheating on your spouse to joining a paramilitary group. What should you do?
AI image generation tech can now create life-wrecking deepfakes with ease: AI tech makes it trivial to generate harmful fake ...
Will an HIV vaccine ever be developed? Failure of Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ global testing raises doubts
The only vaccine against H.I.V. still being tested in late-stage clinical trials has proved ineffective, its manufacturer announced on [January ...
‘Cellular medicine’: Siddhartha Mukherjee on ‘creating new humans’ to limit cancer and other diseases
The cancer physician and author explains why breakthroughs are leading to the creation of ‘new humans’ ...
‘A hotbed of hype and self-experimentation’: Meet the ultra-rich innovators who want to live forever
Hope, hype, and self-experimentation collided at an exclusive conference for ultra-rich investors who want to extend their lives past 100 ...
Do evolution and genetics drive our prejudices?
A research paper suggests that it is more effective to create environments that encourage the emergence of desired behavior through ...
Video: Thanks to a rare mutation, this man is helping science understand the importance of feeling pain
Steven Pete has never felt pain. How a rare genetic mutation has changed his life ...
Do you rarely feel in the mood to exercise? Your gut bacteria could be partly to blame
Some species of gut-dwelling bacteria activate nerves in the gut to promote the desire to exercise, according to a study ...
Viewpoint: ‘Hipster eugenics’ — The ethical case against using personalized genetics to choose embryos
The techno-utopian credos known as “effective altruism” and “longtermism” have recently gained wide notice, judging by Google searches, news articles, ...
