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.
‘Superhero therapy’: How comic book characters can help us navigate life
Why adults flock to this kind of therapy speaks volumes about the importance of superhero stories—and the nature of the ...
Emerging field of ‘social genomics’ comes with ethical, societal risks: ‘Who’s going to benefit?’
By looking at the genomes of people living in former coal-mining areas, [geneticist Abdel Abdellaoui] has found genetic signatures associated ...
Brains and birth control pills: Oral contraceptives may affect learning, memory and the immune system
Sarah E Hill, a professor of social psychology at the Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas argues we need ...
Inherited Neanderthal, Denisovan DNA may help with our metabolism, immunity and diet
Neanderthals and Denisovans went extinct some 35,000 to 40,000 years ago, but not before these closely related hominins interbred with ...
Tiny, lab-grown brains allow researchers to explore what makes humans different
Researchers are growing human, ape, and monkey brain tissue in the lab in order to understand what makes us different ...
Orange skin? That’s just one of the ways our bodies might evolve if we settle on Mars
Over time, we should expect a fair bit of evolutionary divergence between Mars settlers and the human population on Earth, ...
Could common infections be causing eating disorders?
Infections might, in fact, spark eating disorders in some people. For the study, Lauren Breithaupt, a clinical psychologist at Massachusetts ...
Baby brain wave patterns may offer early predictor of autism
Brain activity patterns in the first year of life may predict autism in infants at high risk for the condition, ...
Inherited learning appears to be real, through epigenetics. But we still aren’t sure how it happens
[S]ome researchers have found evidence that even some learned behaviors and physiological responses can be epigenetically inherited. None of the new ...
Viewpoint: Why CRISPR embryo editing is not ‘morally urgent’: No one has to have a child
[He Jiankui’s CRISPR babies] brought to the surface common misunderstandings — even among scientists and ethicists — that reproductive uses of this ...
‘Brain drain’ increases genetic inequality between wealthy, poor regions in UK study
An unintended side effect of merit-based social mobility is that it stimulates selective migration; people with a higher education are ...
Reversal of fortune for ‘failed’ Alzheimer’s drug? Biogen now seeking FDA approval, based on new test data
An experimental treatment for Alzheimer's disease is headed to the Food and Drug Administration for approval—despite the fact that it ...
Only child syndrome? These kids are no more ‘selfish, narcissistic’ than others, study suggests
Wherever you fall in a group of siblings, there are plenty of stereotypes about the sort of person you are ...
Astonishing efficiency, unlimited storage: What makes the human brain so powerful?
[A] team from Washington University in St. Louis combined neural recordings from rats with computer modeling to uncover one of the ...
Video: Two mutations join forces to create deadlier cancer
Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have discovered that ...
Medieval Europe’s devastating Black Death was caused by just two strains of the disease
The Black Death ravaged medieval Western Europe, wiping out roughly one-third of the population. Now researchers have traced the genetic ...
Conquering a fear of flying by ‘retuning’ the brain’s ability to calm itself
Fear of flying, or aviophobia, is an anxiety disorder. About 40 percent of the general population reports some fear of ...
Artificial intelligence can determine your ‘brain age’ by analyzing MRI scans
Delaying “brain age” may sound like the latest quick-fix gimmick on a late-night infomercial, but the science underlying the concept ...
‘Gross and dangerous”: Genetic test for same-sex attraction condemned by scientists
In August, a group of researchers published the results of a massive genome-wide association study on homosexual behavior. The take-home message ...
New CRISPR tool promises ability to reduce unintended consequences to almost zero, treat expanded range of diseases
A new form of the genome-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 appears to significantly expand the range of diseases that could be treated ...
How fathers’ diets, lifestyle choices could impact their babies’ health
[E]merging science indicates that fathers play a more significant role in pregnancy outcomes than previously thought. … Traditionally, the father’s ...
What does a healthy human gut virome look like? Study shows that we have no idea
There’s a lot that scientists don’t know about the gut microbiota, and when it comes to the viruses present there ...
Consumer genetic health-test market expands: Ancestry launches new service, paired with professional counseling
Ancestry, the consumer genetics company that has until now focused on helping people understand their family history, on [October 15] ...
Are undiscovered antibiotics ‘silently waiting’ in our own bodies? Researchers scour microbiome for helpful genes
[A] study led by Dr. Mohamed Donia from Princeton University pushed the dark microbiome world into the light by targeting the ...
Why is it so hard to think straight when you’re tired? Here’s what’s going on in your brain
Most of us could use more sleep. We feel it in our urge for an extra cup of coffee and ...
‘Unexpected’ marriage practices, slavery, social inequality revealed in analysis of Bronze Age remains
A fascinating new study chronicles the family histories of European Bronze Age households, revealing the presence of surprising marital practices, ...
‘Defibrillator for the brain’: Implant could prevent epileptic seizures in autistic children
Kevin, who has autism and has had seizures since he was 8 years old, lies uncharacteristically still in the center ...
