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.
Vitamin D from sunshine or supplements does not reduce risk of depression
According to [a] study from Massachusetts General Hospital released [August 5], vitamin D, also known as the sunshine supplement, does ...
You are what your hair says you are: Follicles provide a map of your diet and health
Your mop can potentially shed light on whether you prefer veggie burgers or cheeseburgers, a new study has suggested. Researchers ...
Gum health linked to mental health problems
Periodontal disease is associated with a wide range of health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and dementia, making the ...
Star Wars inspired ‘electronic artificial skin’ can restore the sense of touch for prosthetic users
[A] device, dubbed ACES, or Asynchronous Coded Electronic Skin, is made up of 100 small sensors and is about 1 ...
Why are Alzheimer’s and dementia rates falling in Europe and the U.S.?
The risk for a person to develop dementia over a lifetime is now 13 percent lower than it was in ...
Dinosaur cancer? We suffer from malignancies that afflicted our distant biological relatives
[S]cientists say they have, for the first time, found that dinosaurs suffered from osteosarcoma -- an aggressive malignant cancer that ...
Brain zapping: Could brain massage therapy reduce pain?
Dr. Hyochol “Brian” Ahn, professor at UTHealth’s Cizik School of Nursing, suggested that pain could be zapped away using electric ...
Mosquito relief: Grapefruit-scented natural insect repellent with nootkatone heading to stores
The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it had approved a new ingredient, called nootkatone, that repels and kills mosquitoes and ticks ...
‘We can’t make dinosaurs come to life – yet.’ How far can synthetic biology turn science fiction into fact?
A team of Los Alamos scientists are developing “cell-free systems.” They take the guts of the cells and use the ...
Video: Sperm are ‘spinners not swimmers’—because they are lopsided
Research by fertility scientists in the UK and Mexico challenges the accepted view of how sperm “swim”, suggesting that it ...
Meet STACI: STAT’s fascinating interactive guide to AI in healthcare
The Covid-19 pandemic underscores the importance of the technology in medicine: In the last few months, hospitals have used AI ...
Medieval medicine resurrected: Could a 1,000 year old potion help fight bacterial infections?
Garlic, onion, wine, and a dash of bovine bile. It’s a veritable witch’s brew, but as a new Scientific Reports paper shows, this ...
‘Looks can be deceiving’: People with anorexia don’t always look scrawny or malnourished
[A]dolescents and young adults with disordered eating habits or outright eating disorders often go unrecognized by both parents and physicians ...
12 lifestyle changes to cut risk from dementia
[A major] review identified the biggest known risk factors for dementia as smoking, excess alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, head injury, depression, hearing loss and exposure to air ...
Infographic: We know breastfeeding helps children. Now we know it helps mothers too
When a woman becomes pregnant, her risk of type 2 diabetes increases for the rest of her life, perhaps because ...
Coronavirus accelerates adoption of artificial intelligence
Data, artificial intelligence, digital health systems and connectivity have been aiding the fight against COVID-19 in multiple ways, uncovering new ...
Sugar and processed foods undermine body’s response to exercise
[A] study, which involved rodents and people, suggests that eating a diet high in sugar and processed foods, which may ...
Why it’s important to have a public discussion about Kanye West’s erratic behavior
In 2018, [Kanye] West revealed he has a mental illness. Some mental health advocates are now pushing for the media ...
Zoanthropy: The curious case of the woman who believes she is a chicken
[A] 54-year-old woman, who had no history of drug or alcohol abuse, was found by her brother in her garden ...
Bioprinting: Creating pinhead replicas of human organs to fight COVID-19 and other ailments
Anthony Atala, the director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and his team are… creating tiny replicas of ...
Are we any closer to understanding what consciousness is?
Thinkers have spent an immense amount of time and ink trying to unravel mysteries, such as how consciousness works and ...
Alzheimer’s disease may soon be detectable with a simple blood test
[A blood test might] be a simple way to help diagnose [Alzheimer’s, the] most common form of dementia. Developing such a ...
Space Station science: Fungus found at Chernobyl could protect astronauts from galactic cosmic radiation
Galactic cosmic radiation remains a troubling impediment to a sustained human presence in space. This unresolved problem is starting to ...
A Study Finds Sex Differences in the Brain. Does It Matter?
[July 20, Armin Raznahan] and his team published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that not only reported reliable sex ...
How humans might play a role in our own extinction
[W]hat if human extinction was less a cinematic scenario, and instead, a looming reality? That might seem like a sensational ...
Common vaccines appear to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline
[Two studies] have demonstrated that flu and pneumococcal vaccines are linked with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. In both ...
CRISPR gene drives could eliminate many vector-driven pests and diseases, but challenges remain
A functioning gene drive system could fundamentally change our strategies for the control of vector-borne diseases by facilitating rapid dissemination ...
