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 genes from other species can open the door to human colonization of the far reaches of the universe
[Geneticist Christopher Mason has developed] a “500-year plan for the survival of the human species on Earth, in space, and ...
Obesity genes? Scientists isolating mutations that promote weight gain, spurring hopes gene editing could dramatically curtail the disease
Over the last twenty years, genetics have been increasingly implicated in the incidence of obesity. The MC4R gene in particular ...
Deep brain stimulation not only treats psychiatric issues, it can boost confidence and openness
[W]hy, exactly, is [deep brain stimulation, or] DBS so transformative – not just eliminating OCD symptoms, but increasing self-confidence and ...
Metabolically tweaked CBD shows signs of curbing severe pain and chronic neuropathy associated with cancer treatments
[When professor of pharmacology Sara Jane] Ward tested CBD’s pain-relieving power in mice, she noticed it wasn’t absorbed well by ...
How dogs and humans developed our symbiotic relationship
Dogs show an incredible ability to understand their human companions, even without extensive training. The question is – how much ...
Facial structure and sex: Women can intuitively read features to assess whether a man is interested in a long-term relationship or a casual romp
Wouldn’t it be great if you could tell, just by studying [someone's] face, whether they’re interested in a long-term relationship ...
The world of ‘designer DNA’ meets the challenge of intractable genetic disorders. Here’s how that story may play out
[T]he cutting-edge world of innovative genomic therapies is once again in the midst of explosive change—and designer DNA lies at ...
Simone Biles is suffering from what gymnasts call the ‘twisties.’ It’s a real and dangerous phenomenon
American gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from several Olympic events [recently], including the latest withdrawal from the vault and uneven bars ...
What makes one embryo ‘better’ than another? Why selecting children through polygenic scoring might not work as intended
[S]ome companies have already started to offer couples going through in vitro fertilization (IVF) the means to pick better embryos ...
Pseudoscience takes hold with athletes at the Olympics
In London in 2012 I noticed the almost ubiquitous multi-colored tape snaking in unusual patterns along the bodies of athletes ...
CRISPR gene editing debuts in space, as astronauts study how DNA repairs itself from cosmic radiation
Space radiation has long been a concern for astronauts living beyond Earth’s protective atmosphere—it can damage DNA, leading to cancer ...
Is science really about evidence? How convention trumps new findings on obesity and health
In 2005, Katherine Flegal, a senior scientist studying obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published a counterintuitive ...
Concerned about insect declines? AI pollinating robots could come to the rescue
Across the globe, startups are testing robots to pollinate everything from blueberries to almonds. And in Australia, one company is ...
What age did you have sex for the first time? What age did you have kids? Genetics plays a surprisingly influential role
An Oxford-led team, working with Cambridge and international scholars, has discovered hundreds of genetic markers driving two of life's most ...
Mark Twain’s misguided obsession with alternative medicine
[Mark] Twain was raised with alternative medicine. His mother, Jane Clemens, dabbled in everything from homeopathy to spiritualism to patent ...
Exoplanets and alien life: Next generation orbital telescopes open windows to the universe
There are about 25 billion stars in our galaxy that are just like our sun, and astronomers suspect that about ...
How did humans transition from saber-tooth tiger prey to masters of the planet?
Do you picture our hominin ancestors as hunters? I did. Not so much. “They were the hunted,” [paleoanthropologist Jeremy] DeSilva ...
Viewpoint: Why attacks on the concept of ‘objective truth’ are escalating
Attacks on the concept of objective truth are not new. Left-wing attacks on objectivity date at least to the 1970s, ...
Evolutionary science has seen a tsunami of new revelations — but have they upended the central tenets of Darwinism?
Massive asked three evolutionary biologists... about their perspectives on the origin of the field, what has changed, and about the ...
Almost 50 years ago, conservatives were the backbone of societal support for science. Now just 45% of Republicans have confidence in the institution
A new Gallup poll reveals that, in 2021, just 45 percent of Republicans report having a "great deal" or "quite ...
Humans have been addicted to carbs since before we even domesticated crops
Over the past four years, [researcher Laura] Dietrich has discovered that the people who built [the world’s oldest temple discovered] ...
Genetic differences distinguish closely related northern Chinese, Korean and Japanese populations
Researchers at China’s top forensic academy in Beijing say they have found genetic differences between three ethnic groups in East ...
Why the oversimplified ‘humans-are-machines’ model needs to be scrapped
Cells are not factories. Nor do their parts in any way resemble gears. And despite the benefits of using a ...
Elephants are clever problem solvers — and they have distinct personalities, too
Just as humans have their own individual personalities, new research in the Journal of Comparative Psychology shows that elephants have ...
What’s the difference between dementia, Alzheimer’s, and age-related memory loss?
Alzheimer’s and dementia are diseases of the brain that are very different from memory problems of normal aging. They are ...
Video: Curious about the full implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution? Here’s a primer
With CRISPR, a group of enzymes recognize certain repeats, and break the DNA there to insert important information in the ...
Why are humans one of the few species in which fathers play an ongoing role in child-rearing?
Male mountain gorillas don’t seem to know or care which young are theirs. But nearly all males tolerate the company ...
