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.
Artificial chip mimics bone marrow, generates platelets
Scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed a scalable, next-generation platelet bioreactor to generate fully functional human platelets ...
Climate change driving diversity in seal population
Although climate change continues to stir up opportunities and challenges for animals across the world, new research published today in Nature shows the ups and ...
DNA replication model provides new tool for molecular geneticists
Human cells make new copies of their DNA billions of times each day, a crucial process upon which life itself ...
Promising new diabetes treatment overcomes negative side effects
In Type 1 diabetes, the body's immune system destroys the cells that produce insulin, leaving your body unable to make ...
Raising the dead: ‘De-extinction’ science could lead to rescue of threatened wildlife
Philip Seddon, zoologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, addresses the fears of regenerating species as a tactic ...
Largest-ever genetic study of schizophrenia cements genetic links
By identifying more than 100 new distinct genetic regions associated with schizophrenia, an international team of hundreds of scientists may ...
Q&A illuminates the ‘golden age’ of memory science
When it comes to the study of memory, we might be living in something of a golden age. Researchers are ...
World’s happiest nations are genetically similar to Denmark
In 2013, the United Nations' World Happiness Report listed Denmark as the country with the highest levels of happiness. Now, ...
Q&A illuminates the ‘golden age’ of memory science
When it comes to the study of memory, we might be living in something of a golden age. Researchers are ...
Q&A illuminates the ‘golden age’ of memory science
When it comes to the study of memory, we might be living in something of a golden age. Researchers are ...
Tallying the supercentenarians
The recent death of 111 year old Alexander Imich highlighted the difficulties in keeping track of the world's oldest people, ...
Snipping HIV out of the genome
Like other retroviruses, the genetic material of HIV wedges itself into the genome of its human host. While antiretroviral therapies ...
Elephants can attribute superior smell to genes
Compared with 13 other mammal species studied, African elephants have the most genes related to smell: 2,000. That’s the most ever ...
Three-parent IVF possibly to begin next year in Britain
New regulations to allow mitochondrial DNA transfer will now be put before parliament following a three month consultation. If passed, ...
Survey says majority of Americans ‘unaware’ of personalized medicine
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – A significant majority of Americans are not familiar with personalized medicine, but when told how it ...
Are environmental pollutants causing heritable disease?
Michael Skinner, a professor of biology at Washington State University, ignited a firestorm of debate in 2005 when he and ...
Heritability of autism may be greater than previously thought
Autism, researchers agree, is caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors. At this point, however, consensus dissolves. Views differ, ...
Handy genome-editing fact sheet
Genome editing comprises a range of molecular techniques that allow targeted changes to be made to the genomes of organisms ...
CDC experts caution “utility before business” when it comes to medical genomics
Today, enthusiasm for genomics far outstrips the relatively modest, albeit increasing, number of clinical scenarios for which it provides established ...
Why do mosquitoes always seem to bite you and not your friends? Could it be your genes?
You come in from a summer hike covered with itchy red mosquito bites, only to have your friends innocently proclaim ...
Can neuroscience offer advice on business relationships?
Jan Hills, founder of leadership development consultancy Head Heart + Brain, sat down with IBTimes UK to talk about her ...
Harvard scientists call for debate on new gene-manipulation technique
A powerful new technology could be used to manipulate nature by “editing” the genes of organisms in the wild, enabling ...
Can regenerative therapy restore vision and the promise of stem cell technology?
Despite a great deal of hype, especially in the world of sports, the promised magic of stem cell therapy is ...
Are ‘gene drives’ scary or promising?
Perhaps you've followed that teeny tiny controversy around genetically modified foods, the “GMO” debate. Or you watched the fierce back-and-forth over whether ...
NASA says it will find extraterrestrial life soon: Will it be DNA-based?
NASA says it's closer than ever to finding extraterrestrial life, but if and when scientists find life outside of Earth, ...
Video: Genetic engineering allows MIT researchers to implant false memories
Can you install a false memory in the brain? Researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown ...
Stem cell-based treatment for autism is not ready for large-scale trial, warn experts
A team at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is set to launch a $40 million clinical trial to explore ...
