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 evolution and genetics shape human morality
There is a large body of research demonstrating and delineating the complex moral instincts of young children, including babies far ...
‘Tip-of-the-tongue’ phenomenon: Does it signal cognitive decline and dementia?
[A] person is certain she knows the word she is searching for. It may seem as if the AWOL term ...
Viewpoint: Why Earth is almost certainly the universe’s only example of intelligent life
In newly published research from Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute, scientists study the likelihood of key times for evolution of life ...
Should you abort a fetus with Down syndrome as the Danish do almost universally?
[I]n 2004, Denmark became one of the first countries in the world to offer prenatal Down syndrome screening to every ...
Replicants: How humans and AI – artificial intelligence – could merge
Researchers are starting to build hybrid collaborative systems that combine the best of an AI model’s superpowers with human intuition. In this, humans ...
Human nature and self identity: How much does our character change throughout life?
Everyone grows and sees their interests, hobbies, passions, and opinions change over time, but does that mean that our very ...
Why we think newborn babies look more like their fathers and other myths and misconceptions about evolution
In chatting about this or that, about babies, dating, or the mysterious lives of cats, someone brightly chimes “That’s because ...
The growing tachysensia community: What is it like when our mind’s speedometer goes awry?
Drive for an hour at 65 mph on an interstate alongside other vehicles moving at similar speeds. Then take an exit ...
Life without humans: What’s the ‘voluntary extinction movement’?
Euthanasia is usually viewed as a personal experience. But there are movements and philosophers who believe that it would be ...
Not so random after all: Human egg cells choose which sperm is the lucky winner
[H]ormones present at ovulation can drive a woman to choose a cocky, confident man with a slight stubble and more masculine features. Men can ...
Infographic: When extremely premature babies grow up, they face chronic conditions that researchers are just beginning to understand
For the first time, researchers can start to understand the long-term consequences of being born so early. Results are pouring ...
Cosmetics poised to be reformulated with lower toxic chemicals in the wake of new California law
[A California ban of toxic chemicals in cosmetics], signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom at the end of September, covers 24 ...
What does it take to run a 2-hour marathon? (It’s in the genes, and East Africans have them)
Elite runners need a specific combination of physiological abilities to have any chance of running a sub-two-hour marathon, new research shows ...
Kevin Davies’ ‘Editing Humanity’ explores the CRISPR revolution and the ethical dilemmas that await us
We cannot rewind the tape of life to see how we might have been and whether humans are inevitable products ...
Going vegan? Switching to a plant-based diet to improve your health? You are almost 50% more likely to suffer bone fractures
Vegans and vegetarians may be at greater risk for bone fractures than meat eaters, according to a large, longitudinal study published [November ...
Cancer breakthrough replacing chemotherapy? Israeli scientists use CRISPR gene editing to snip DNA and kill killer cells
The CRISPR Cas-9 gene editing system allows scientists to make precise alterations to DNA, and gained creators Jennifer Doudna and ...
Alzheimer’s hotspot map: Where it’s most prevalent and why that matters
An emerging body of research is identifying counties and neighborhoods with higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 5.8 million ...
Plants are evolving to look like their surroundings to protect themselves from scavenging humans
Fritillaria delavayi grows on the rocky alpine slopes of China’s Hengduan Mountains, and for more than 2,000 years its dried ...
We know the birthplace of humanity was in Africa but we still don’t know where
Pinpointing the place from which we steadily evolved into the strange, upright, over-sized brain creatures we are today would help ...
Many Americans have ‘Native American DNA’. What does that mean?
Whether or not you have “Native American DNA,” it’s important to understand what it means — and doesn’t mean — ...
Viewpoint: Why we shouldn’t be scared of human gene editing
[G]ene editing is not something to be scared of, and we must spread the word. It is a tool that ...
Giant dinosaurs trace their evolution to global warming during the early Jurassic period 180 million years ago
Sauropods were truly amazing animals, and included the largest land-living animals known, with body lengths of up to 40 meters ...
Critical defense against Alzheimer’s: Deep sleep
Research is increasingly linking insomnia to dementia, the umbrella term for a range of conditions that cause a decline in ...
Infographic: How AI facial-recognition research can be misused to target minorities
[A] study, published in 2018, had trained algorithms to distinguish faces of Uyghur people, a predominantly Muslim minority ethnic group ...
30+ genes identified that could protect us from COVID, opening door to gene therapy prevention solutions
The goal was two-fold: to identify the genes that make human cells more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 virus; and test existing ...
De-extinction: Why CRISPR gene editing might be the most revolutionary development in science ever
Called “de-extinction,” the resurrection of lost species is one of the many applications to be revolutionized by the new gene-editing ...
Ebola-like virus, Chapare, emerges in Bolivia
[A new] disease, caused by the Chapare virus, killed three people and is thought to have sickened at least five during [an] ...
