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.
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s next attack in his war against science—Restricting antidepressants
While his war on vaccines may be getting more attention, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is coming for another ...
Vaccines do more than prevent disease, especially for older adults
Let’s be clear. The primary reason to be vaccinated against shingles is that two shots provide 90 percent protection against a painful, ...
Viewpoint: Do transgirls have a legal right to compete in school athletic competitions?
Does a biological boy who transitions to become a girl have a constitutional right to compete in girls’ sports? Twenty-seven ...
5 provocative questions about how AI might shape our future
If 2025 has been the year of AI hype, 2026 might be the year of AI reckoning. Its powerful capabilities ...
Is cannabis medically useless? The data and patient experience sometime diverge
“There is a gap between what science can confidently tell us and what patients are experiencing in their day-to-day lives,” ...
Viewpoint: The ‘utter bullshit’ of functional medicine
[T]here must be something specific that Functional Medicine teaches, right? Well, no. I looked hard to find a single medical ...
Are multivitamins dangerous for children?
"Parents risk poisoning their children when they give them multivitamins," [Susanne Bügel, professor of nutrition at the University of Copenhagen] ...
‘We’re genetically predisposed to believing our eyes’: AI deepfakes supercharging misinformation
For years, people could largely trust, at least instinctively, that seeing was believing. Now, what’s fake often looks real and ...
Autism risk is genetic
An international team of scientists has identified hundreds of genes that are essential for early brain development, uncovering new insights ...
Study shows AI chatbots are incredibly effective at creating false memories among users
An experimental study in the United States found that having a conversational AI insert slight misinformation into conversations with users ...
Viewpoint: Why nuclear expansion should not be held hostage to oudated science and imagined health risks
With the return of nuclear energy to the public square and serious efforts among policymakers to commercialize a new generation ...
CDC cuts life-saving childhood vaccines from its schedule. Vaccination rates were already plunging
Medical specialists and public health experts expect more children will be left unprotected given policies advanced by Health Secretary Robert ...
From organic living to science-denying conspiracy: The evolution of America’s ‘Crunchy Mom’ movement
When her son was born six years ago, Alex, a 30-year-old mother living in Iowa, completely changed her mindset: "During ...
Republican Senator breaks party ranks, trashes RFK, Jr.’s evisceration of childhood vaccine schedule
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and one of Congress’ few medical professionals, on Monday criticized the Department of Health ...
‘The dire wolf isn’t back’: A Colossal failure or the cutting-edge of conservation? Maybe both
When Colossal unveiled its interpretation of the dire wolf in April, the news made international headlines. Enthusiastic profiles in Time ...
Can AI’s enormous power demands resuscitate the low-carbon nuclear power industry?
Giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have inked numerous deals in recent years with nuclear companies to power data centers; ...
Viewpoint: What’s the likely impact of RFK’s political move to drastically cut recommended childhood schedule vaccines
The new schedule recommends that flu and COVID vaccines only be given after consulting with a health care provider. It ...
Viewpoint: ‘Kennedy has overstayed his welcome’ — RFK, Jr.’s litigation-driven health policies creating cracks in MAGA-MAHA coalition
While the political marriage between MAHA and MAGA has strangely remained intact, adherents of President Trump’s agenda are beginning to notice that ...
Cassandras map the ‘inevitable’ AI doomsday
Right in the heart of Berkeley is the home of a group of modern-day Cassandras who rummage under the hood ...
Viewpoint: ‘Science is always evolving’ is a dangerous excuse to reject it
As popular mistrust of expert opinion grows, we increasingly encounter the following skeptical argument about science: Historically, even well-established theories ...
Viewpoint: Wrecking havoc on American health—RFK, Jr.’s grim first year legacy
In the 11 months since he was confirmed as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has wreaked steady havoc on ...
Who’s my daddy? Chinese billionaire has hundreds of U.S.-born babies. Who has custody?
Chinese gaming tycoon Xu Bo's company [December 16, 2025] pushed back against claims he had fathered more than 100 children ...
AI doomerism is so passé. Or is it?
It’s a weird time to be an AI doomer. This small but influential community of researchers, scientists, and policy experts ...
Viewpoint: ‘Increasingly futile’—Why debating MAHA influencers with science and reason doesn’t work
... Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, the New Jersey-based family medicine physician and medical social media influencer better known as Dr. Mike, appeared ...
AI hype takes a hit—For most businesses, the revolutionary tool falls short
Some disillusionment was inevitable. When OpenAI released a free web app called ChatGPT in late 2022, it changed the course of an ...
Viewpoint: Crazy left meets crazy right—The tort machine created by activist environmentalists to target aspartame, Gardasil, and glyphosate is now turning its sights on vaccines and other MAHA pet grieves
Anti-vaxxers have found a powerful new weapon: the plaintiffs’ bar. Armed with repurposed federal claims and fueled by political momentum, ...
Hype adjustment: Probiotic supplements don’t help much to improve your gut function and overall health, and are a waste of money
There are microbes living in medicine cabinets across the U.S., next to the aspirin and the Band-Aids. And people want ...
