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.
Canada gearing up to pass law against genetic discrimination
Canada is gearing up to pass a law against genetic discrimination. How is the rest of the world dealing with ...
Depression researchers look ahead for ‘golden age’ of research by drawing on cancer’s track record
Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment could yield valuable insights for depression researchers, who struggle to understand the role of ...
Relationship problems? Genes may be responsible
In a study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour, scientists from the University of Queensland claimed to have ...
Researchers sequencing Ebola virus in hope of finding cure
Gene sequencing equipment maker Illumina has teamed up with the U.S. government and academic researchers at the Broad Institute in ...
Financial pressure may force Galápagos conservation organization to close
A 50-year-old conservation organization dedicated to preserving the biodiversity hotspot that inspired Charles Darwin is about to fall off a ...
Translating language in real time relies on interconnectedness of brain’s networks
As the delegate spoke, real-time interpreter Marisa Pinkney had to make sense of a message composed in one language while ...
Hepatitis B vaccine produced cheaply and efficiently using GMO corn
A small technology venture, called Applied Biotechnology Institute (ABI) in San Luis Obispo, CA, a lovely small city along the Central ...
What researchers have learned about human evolution in 40 years since Lucy discovery
“Feeling really lucky,” Donald Johanson wrote in his diary the morning of 24 November 1974, while staying at a remote ...
Immunorepertoire: New slant on personalized medicine
Antibodies and T cell receptors recognize all of the proteins in our bodies, and thereby provide a record of everything ...
Conservation efforts save some species, drive others to extinction
Species reintroductions are some of the most dramatic and compelling stories in conservation. Bringing back wolves, black-footed ferrets, condors, and ...
How will law enforcement use new rapid DNA-scanning technology?
Robert Schueren shook my hand firmly, handed me his business card, and flipped it over, revealing a short list of ...
Only birds evolved feathers, but many other species have genes for them, too
Feathers are like eyes or hands. They’re so complex, so impressive in their adaptations, so good at getting a job ...
Genome rich tapeworm makes way into man’s brain
A tapeworm that usually infects dogs, frogs and cats has made its home inside a man's brain. Sequencing its genome ...
Synthetic biology might aid in Mars mission
Mars is a long way off. About 34 million miles away, depending on planetary orbits. Space agencies planning a mission ...
Neanderthals distinct species from modern humans, new research claims
In an extensive, multi-institution study led by SUNY Downstate Medical Center, researchers have identified new evidence supporting the growing belief ...
UK scientists’ response to mitochondrial transfer criticism by prominent stem cell researcher
Dear Professor Knoepfler, Whilst we take no role in lobbying Parliament, we believe it behoves us to defend the findings ...
Sometimes, viruses make us healthy
When we talk about viruses, usually we focus on the suffering caused by Ebola, influenza and the like. But our ...
Stem cell cure for ‘bubble boy’ disease breakthrough in treating genetic disorders
Alysia Padilla-Vaccaro and Christian Vaccaro owe their daughter’s life to stem cells. Evangelina, now two, is alive today because she ...
Is a dead body a person?
On the night of July 19, 1916, halfway through the First World War, troops from Australia and Great Britain attacked ...
DNA music? OK Go band to release ‘genetic album’
OK Go makes power-pop songs—verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. What sets the songs apart is the way in which they are ...
How warfare shaped female psychological evolution
Evidence suggests that warfare is an ancient part of human life, dating back to when all humans lived as hunter-gatherers ...
Pigs engineered to grow human organs for transplant
In a provocative cross-species experiment, scientists are striving to rewrite the pig genome so the animal grows lungs that could ...
James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA structure, pays homage to father in new book
In 1953, at just 24 years old, James Watson made a discovery that brought him lifelong fame. At Cavendish Laboratory, ...
We might be able to clone mammoths, but should we?
I’m a paleobiologist at the Natural History Museum in London, and I live, sleep and dream mammoths. I doubt that ...
Sexual orientation can’t be explained by genetics alone
Just recently, the largest twin study to date examining genes’ influence on homosexuality was published in the journal Psychological Medicine ...
How to address ethical questions of egg freezing
Apple’s and Facebook’s announcement last month that they would offer $20,000 health insurance coverage to women employees to cover the ...
When does personhood begin?
I went to a Catholic high school, where I was taught in religion class that life begins at conception. I ...
