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.
The future creeps closer: While two-thirds of Americans say they’d pick an embryo based on genetic profiling, some concerns escalate
Nearly one third of those surveyed even say they would consider going through IVF for the sole purpose of such ...
Love on the brain: Here’s the science behind how relationships make us ‘weak in the knees’
Researchers have measured how a part of the brain is responsible for putting our loved one on a pedestal in ...
Weight-loss drugs, malaria vaccines and more: CRISPR innovations headline the science breakthroughs of 2023
CRISPR is the year’s top breakthrough not only because of heroic work done in the past 12 months, but also ...
Video: Two wombs, two babies — In ‘one in a million’ pregnancy, Alabama mother gives birth to twins over two days
A US woman with a rare double uterus has given birth twice in two days - after a "one in ...
Sperm donation is no longer anonymous. Where do we go from here?
Recent findings in behavioral science show the role of genetics in shaping certain individual characteristics ...
Galactic concerts: ‘What if traveling to space could yield incomparable beauty in the form of art and music?’
Within a decade, a trip off the planet could become as accessible as an airline ticket, and in 15-20 years, ...
After demoting a scientist and cutting her pay, University of Pennsylvania makes millions from her mRNA breakthroughs
School that once demoted Katalin Karikó and cut her pay has made millions of dollars from patenting her work ...
Inherited suicide risk: 12 genes related to severe depression discovered
Suicide attempt is strongly associated with psychiatric conditions, poor quality of life, traumatic experiences, and social or economic burden ...
Human evolution roundup: Here are last year’s 13 most fascinating findings on human ancestry
Smithsonian paleoanthropologists reveal thirteen of the year’s most fascinating findings about human origins ...
Over a million frozen embryos are left in limbo. Should they be donated?
Higher IVF success rates mean more embryos are being left unused—and more families wrestling with questions about what to do ...
Viewpoint: Tech Panic Cycle — AI could transform entertainment, education, health care, unless over wrought fears shut down innovation
Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have heightened imaginations about what the future holds ...
Video: Stone ring structures found in Neanderthal cave in France continue to fuel reassessment of our once scorned hominid cousins
We haven’t been very kind to Neanderthals since their remains were first unearthed in the 19th century, often characterizing them ...
Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis: Scanning the eye with AI tools could help us catch dementia 20 years before symptoms show up
RetiSpec developed an artificial-intelligence algorithm that it says can analyze results from an eye scanner to detect signs of Alzheimer’s ...
Is biological age testing useful or overrated?
New tests promise to tell you if you have the cells of a 30-year-old or a 60-year-old. Here’s what to ...
Drug-free pain management: Retraining the brain with ‘pain reprocessing therapy’ hopes to offer alternative to opioids
“Pain reprocessing therapy,” tries to train the brain not to send false pain signals. Some early results are promising ...
Night owls vs mourning doves: Neanderthal genes explain why some people find it easy to wake up early
Scientists find genes inherited from our prehistoric cousins increase tendency to rise early – useful in regions with short winter ...
When will needle-free COVID vaccines arrive in the US?
Vaccines delivered through the nose or mouth should help stop infection where it begins. But researchers are still working to ...
Morning sickness used to be a mystery. Now researchers say they have figured out the root cause
Researchers from Cambridge University sought to understand the causes of morning sickness in hopes of one day preventing it ...
Move over, Ozempic: Vibrating pill can satiate hunger, leading to weight loss
Dieters may have an answer now as research showed that a vibrating pill, swallowed before eating, that creates feelings of ...
How ‘detransitioners’ are affecting gender-affirming care laws across the US
Dozens of detransitioners have gained prominence this year, suing the doctors and clinics from which they received care ...
Scent on the brain: Decline in olfactory abilities can signal conditions such as Alzheimer’s
Now researchers say our sense of smell, and its connection to our memory, could be used to help fight dementia ...
For synthetic biology, 2023 was a very opportune year
Synthetic biology is a multidisciplinary field that often draws inspiration from nature to build molecular components ...
‘Alcohol genes’? How much you drink may be influenced by your DNA
Research found those who drank a lot — at least 5 bottles of wine a week for men, and 3.5 ...
21st century evolution: Humans are evolving ‘more rapidly than ever before’
It is often assumed that modern humans are no longer evolving. But there is now considerable agreement among scientists that ...
‘Big Weed’: How today’s cannabis landscape mirrors tobacco companies in the 1950s
OK, marijuana is now legal. So where’s the public health approach? Strictly speaking, marijuana use isn’t fully legal across the ...
Organs on demand, AI innovation, CRISPR for cholesterol: Top 10 tech breakthroughs of 2023
MIT Technology Review has unveiled its list of the top 10 breakthrough technologies that made headlines in 2023. From cutting-edge ...
Highschoolers used AI to create non-consensual sexually explicit images. Here’s how US lawmakers are responding
Legislators are responding quickly after high school teens used AI to create nonconsensual sexually explicit images ...
