Newsletter GLP Human
GLP Podcast: ‘Cancel’ culture comes for science outreach; Activism blocks avian flu solution; CRISPR-edited cats?
A major university recently halted a science outreach event because the invited speakers were white men. Has so-called "cancel culture" ...
Where should society draw ethical lines for experimental CRISPR gene therapies that appear able to cure diseases?
It has been more than a year since Markus Mapara, MD, a professor of medicine and director of blood and ...
What are acetogens? And how could synthetic biology turn oil, coal and other fossil fuels into green, carbon-negative chemicals?
When most people hear about oil, as in petroleum, they think of what gets refined to produce gasoline. But it’s ...
Should Medicare routinely cover cost of $28,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug Adumelm? Most medical professionals say ‘no’ but the pharmaceutical industry is fighting back
The drug industry, patient advocates, and congressional Republicans have all attacked federal officials’ decision to decline routine Medicare coverage for ...
GLP Podcast: Artificial sweetener-cancer study debunked; MLB and vaccine mandates; Cholesterol not so bad after all?
A controversial study recently suggested that artificial sweetener consumption may be linked to elevated cancer risk. Have food-safety regulators overlooked ...
Why the developing world isn’t reaping benefits from the human genomics revolution
Since the first human genome was sequenced in the early 2000s, scientists have touted the breakthrough as a blessing to humanity ...
Probiotics: Solution to long-COVID or overhyped sales pitch?
“Could THIS twice-daily probiotic supplement filled with gut friendly bacteria help beat Long Covid?” That’s the headline in the Daily ...
‘Here, CRISPR critter’: How to gene edit a hypo-allergenic cat
I pity the 15 percent of the human population that cannot live with a cat, due to allergy. I’ve seen ...
Children with deadly immune disorders remain healthy a decade after being treated with gene therapy
Over a decade ago, UCLA physician-scientists began using a pioneering gene therapy they developed to treat children born with a ...
GLP Podcast: Activists dump grain during food shortage; The mirror lies to you; Anti-GMO study debunked
Last week, French activist group Extinction Rebellion destroyed 15,000 tons of wheat to prove its anti-GMO bona fides. The grain ...
Why did the earliest humans leave Africa?
On a searing hot summer day at ‘Ubeidiya, an ancient site in northern Israel, an undulating expanse of dry grasses ...
Globalization of disease: COVID has sparked bioarchaeological investigations of epidemics in prior centuries. What have we learned?
The previous pandemics to which people often compare COVID-19 – the influenza pandemic of 1918, the Black Death bubonic plague (1342-1353), the Justinian ...
GLP Podcast: Ukraine war spikes food prices; Journalist sheds anti-GMO views; Creationism in schools
The war in Ukraine could have long-term impacts on global food prices. Can we prevent this dangerous outcome? A Japanese ...
Is there a male-female ‘orgasm gap’? Unlocking the mystery of female sexual selection
Every second of every day, across the face of planet Earth, there are 18,000 ejaculations of sperm, and 4.4 births ...
Rumors swirling around the web that COVID vaccines spawn variants. Here’s why that’s not true
Are COVID vaccines responsible for creating the multiple variants that keep hitting the world? I get this question all the ...
GLP Podcast: mRNA flu shot coming soon? Dogs really can’t eat chocolate; Marijuana-like ‘runner’s high’
mRNA technology gave us COVID-19 vaccines. Could it also yield more effective flu vaccines? Yes—maybe as soon as next year ...
New study probes reactions to discovering new relatives through consumer DNA testing
Late winter is the season for dealing with unexpected findings from DNA testing kits gifted in December. For most people, ...
Part II: How COVID upended the taboo on limiting constructive discussion about human biodiversity
The coronavirus crisis has brought to light the societal downside of ignoring patterned, population-based differences. Consider the latest research findings ...
Viewpoint: UN sub-agency IARC bungled cancer designation of glyphosate and undermined science of assessing carcinogens
Testing for chemical carcinogenicity using animals is timely, costly, and for some, morally wrong. Non-traditional data consists primarily of quick, ...
The humans we haven’t met yet
Everything that’s been called Homo sapiens, isn’t. In my opinion, far too many species have been lumped together into this one ...
GLP Podcast: Illegal GMOs in India; Anti-aging myths; Can social media ‘brainwash’ us?
Farmers in India are growing illegal GE eggplant in hopes of overturning the country's ban on the insect-resistant crop. Anti-aging ...
What’s the best way to reduce the risk of preventable cancers of the stomach, kidneys, colon, breast and urinary tract? 5 hours of exercise a week
A new report finds more than 46,000 cancer cases annually in the United States could be prevented if Americans met ...
Part I: Viewpoint—Many people believe ‘human biodiversity’ is alt-right code for embracing racism. Here’s why they are dangerously wrong
Why do some people equate the phrase “human biodiversity” with racism? And what does it really mean? HBD, as its ...
Next generation flu shots could be mRNA technology-based
The rapid development of mRNA-based COVID vaccines has sparked fresh interest in earlier efforts to produce new and hopefully more ...
GLP Podcast: Biotech fish ‘invade’ Brazil; TikTok GMO-sterility myth debunked; Bad diet and dementia
A genetically engineered "GloFish" is swimming freely in Brazil's streams. Should we be worried? Despite a popular conspiracy circulating on ...
Viewpoint: Eugenics has become unacceptable in modern society — except when it’s used to support termination of genetically abnormal fetuses
American partisan politics has just been inflamed by implementation of a Texas ban on abortions once an embryo’s heartbeat is ...
Will Homo longi elbow aside Neanderthals as our closest relative?
In 1933 a mysterious fossil skull was discovered near Harbin City in the Heilongjiang province of north-eastern China. Despite being ...
