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.
‘A chill through the entire vaccine industry’: RFK., Jr.’s flip-flop on Moderna’s mRNA vaccine latest setback
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was picked in November 2024 to become the next health secretary, public health experts worried ...
AI regularly passes on misinformation because it relies more on the source than the science
Artificial intelligence tools are more likely to provide incorrect medical advice when the misinformation comes from what the software considers ...
Vaccine rejectionist Jenny McCarthy ridiculed online after again spreading false claim that Tylenol causes autism
Anti-vaccine advocate Jenny McCarthy has sparked backlash on social media after she shared a video discussing the unproven "correlation" between Tylenol's active ...
As science misinformation soars, communicators ponder how to regain public trust
... Technology Networks asked an array of experts the same question: “In an era of rapid information flow and rising misinformation, ...
Viewpoint—Flooding the legal zone: RFK Jr.’s not-so-secret plan to bankrupt vaccine manufacturers
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly assured Congress and Americans that he would not “take vaccines away from anybody.” While ...
Manosphere social media influencers promote dangerous testosterone regimens
Young men are being encouraged to undergo testosterone testing and start hormone therapy through Instagram and TikTok content that promotes ...
Anti-birth control activists promote useless apps and misinformation claiming to ‘naturally’ curtail pregnancy
Cycle Tracking has become a trend on social media among the wellness community. Online influencers create content centered on syncing ...
A health “misinformation vaccine”? Scientists believe they may have one
Scientists are showing how exposing people to manipulative techniques through games can act as a ‘psychological vaccine’ against bad health information ...
AI medical advice: Not ready for prime time
Medical artificial intelligence (AI) is often described as a way to make patient care safer by helping clinicians manage information ...
Viewpoint: Challenging the Tartaria myth and other pillars of online pseudoscience
Especially on TikTok but also on YouTube and other platforms, one very common narrative that I have seen amounts to ...
U.S. is becoming a vaccination backwater: Even Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Greece all recommend more shots
The U.S. childhood vaccination schedule has been dramatically reduced, purportedly because, as federal health officials argued, the now-discarded schedule recommended ...
Google and Meta on trial in social media addiction case
Annalee Schott used to live in rural Colorado where the farm, the barn, and the horses were her happy place. But ...
Viewpoint: How corporations and governments drive disinformation and downplay the human role in climate change
As the Earth continues to warm [primarily because of human activity] and the impacts on our climate grow increasingly severe, the science that seeks to ...
Mattel just rolled out an ‘autism Barbie’. Can it help counteract RFK, Jr.’s misinformation?
[T]oymaker Mattel released the very first autistic Barbie doll. ... Her eyes are slightly averted, and she’s holding a communication ...
No, supplements cannot prevent cancer or even help treat it, and they could even make things worse
As a general statement, when dietary supplements have been studied rigorously in clinical trials, they have not been shown to ...
Viewpoint: With birth rates and populations falling below replacement levels across the globe except in Africa, should governments intervene?
Across much of Europe and North America, fertility lies well below replacement level, with Italy, Spain, and South Korea as ...
Trust in science is cratering in America. Is there a way to restore it?
Although public trust in science is a recent preoccupation for some, it has been a problem for decades in the United States. Republicans began ...
Politicizing science: RFK, Jr.’s FDA rejects review of Moderna’s effective seasonal mRNA flu vaccine
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to review Moderna’s seasonal influenza jab, mRNA-1010, as the shifting vaccine ...
The older you get, the more likely you are to embrace health misinformation
Misinformation has long posed a substantial threat to public health, but it has not been clear who is most at ...
‘Addiction machines’: Social media companies on trial, blamed for epidemic of suicides
The world's largest social media companies have been accused of creating "addiction machines" as a landmark trial began in California ...
Plastic surgeons group rejects gender-transitioning plastic surgery for youth 18 or younger
In a watershed moment, on February 3, 2026, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) issued an official position statement ...
Viewpoint: Is industry disinformation being used to block wind energy development?
Research from Brown University’s Climate and Development Lab, in striking detail, maps a network showing how fossil fuel interests and climate denial ...
The MAGA right’s weird obsession with the slur word ‘retard’
... [A] woman posted a photograph on social media of a purple hat she had knitted .... The cozy scene ...
Viewpoint: What happens if the AI bubble bursts? An anti-modernist skeptic makes his case
If some time in an entirely possible future they come to make a movie about “how the AI bubble burst”, ...
83 children died in Samoa after RFK, Jr. lobbying stopped measles vaccinations, and then he lied about it to Congress, emails show
Over two days of questioning during his Senate confirmation hearings last year, Robert F Kennedy Jr repeated the same answer. He said ...
Non-human animals and even bacteria are prone to spread misinformation
[In 2025], the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued a warning about the dangers of misinformation. Social media platforms are ...
Destructive peddlers of health misinformation: Social media influencers
Social media is awash with influencers vying for our attention so they can profit by selling their courses and hawking ...
