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.
‘Paradigm-changing’: Artificial nerve cells could lead to treatments for Alzheimer’s, other brain disorders
Scientists have made artificial nerve cells, paving the way for new ways to repair the human body. The tiny "brain ...
Viewpoint: Battling antibiotic resistance requires ‘detection, prevention, innovation’ to counter rising threats
The latest Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report, recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that antibiotic-resistant (AR) infections ...
Once-a-month birth control pill could be possible with innovative design
Scientists say they have made a breakthrough on developing a contraceptive pill that only needs to be taken once a ...
Your dog may be paying closer attention to your words than you realize
Dogs pay much closer attention to what humans say than we realised, even to words that are probably meaningless to ...
Why finding a blood test for Alzheimer’s could be the key to new treatments
Alzheimer’s patients who were at earlier stages of the disease did better than those with more advanced cognitive decline [in ...
Does your DNA leave a unique identifying code? Not always, if you get a bone marrow transplant
Three months after his bone marrow transplant, Chris Long of Reno, Nev., learned that the DNA in his blood had ...
Why it’s so hard to call someone a sex addict: ‘Who’s to say what’s normal or abnormal’
Today we have a tiny number of true sexual compulsives who do things like getting repeatedly arrested for public masturbation. We ...
Viewpoint: Synthetic biology, and the quest to engineer life, will define a generation
More than ever, the systemic and slowly unfolding problems in our world today will define my generation. From petroleum-based production ...
Brain zapping may be a new type of snake oil. But it might also work—in some instances
According to the advertising hype, you too can enjoy incredible neural and psychological benefits in the comfort of your own ...
Does the pill cause depression? Why its too soon to be worried
“Does the pill cause depression?” the news headline asked. Prompted by a recent study that described a link between taking birth ...
Computer simulation suggests we aren’t even close to designing better babies
It’s difficult to talk about genetic selection without the umbrella of morality or ethics. Yet like all scientific advancements, it ...
Was it ‘bad luck’—not ancient humans—that drove Neanderthals to extinction?
Neanderthals may have gone extinct due to chance, and not, as some researchers previously thought, due to competition for resources ...
Why DNA is the thumb drive of the future
DNA is designed to keep lots of data in a tiny space for an extremely long time. But the best ...
Infographic: Exploring ways humans have adapted for endurance running
The Endurance Running hypothesis is the latest incarnation of the open-plain models of human evolution, which speculated that human is ...
3 experimental vaccines could be ‘game changer’ for HIV treatment
The global fight against the human immunodeficiency virus is poised to make important advances thanks to three experimental HIV vaccines ...
Single dose of ketamine could weaken the desire to drink beer
A single dose of ketamine may cut down problematic drinking. Taken in the right context, the hallucinogenic drug may be able ...
Autism, ADHD linked to mutations in the same genes in new study
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are both known to be heritable, but the details of ...
There’s still a lot we don’t know about China’s controversial CRISPR babies, including their health status
Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world by claiming he had helped make the first gene-edited babies. One year later, ...
Viewpoint: Experimental gene therapy saved my sons’ eyesight
Not long after we brought my newborn son, Anthony, home from the hospital, we noticed his eyes kept darting to ...
Excerpts from unpublished paper reveal ‘damning’ details suggesting controversial CRISPR babies’ experiment went awry
Titled “Birth of Twins After Genome Editing for HIV Resistance,” and 4,699 words long, the still unpublished paper was authored ...
China wants to use DNA to map faces. Is it a technology for ‘hunting people’?
Chinese scientists are trying to find a way to use a DNA sample to create an image of a person’s ...
Is frozen 18,000-year-old puppy missing link between wolves and dogs?
An 18,000-year-old puppy unearthed in Siberia could prove to be the missing link between dogs and wolves, scientists believe. The puppy ...
Virtual reality gets more realistic: Vibrating synthetic skin simulates touch
While they’re still struggling to gain commercial traction, the latest VR headsets are able to transport people to impressive virtual ...
We may be getting closer to finding alien life, but don’t expect it to happen next year, expert say
Space.com asked top SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) experts about what next year may signal regarding detecting other starfolk. ...
Dark side of brain upgrades: They could give corrupt leaders ‘the ultimate way to ensure good citizenship’
It’s 2045. You stroll into the Center for Mind Design. There you can purchase a brain chip to augment your ...
Viewpoint: Consumer genetic tests and scant privacy protections give us reason to be ‘terrified’
[Y]ou don’t have to be Orwell to understand that the decision to allow a profit-driven company to analyze a person’s ...
Adults with autism are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety
Adults with autism are more than twice as likely as neurotypical people to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a ...
