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.
Genetics likely determine who benefits from vitamins in the developed world
In 1911, Polish biochemist Casimir Funk discovered what was behind a then-mysterious neurological condition known as beriberi, common in regions ...
Brain cancer may have rogue stem cell origin, option for treatment
Glioblastoma and other related malignant glioma tumors including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) are some of the most devastating of ...
Genetic evidence points toward prosperity to explain dramatic expansion of Ashkenazi Jewry
Many people looking at Jewish population history have boggled at the idea of a small group expanding to a few ...
Stem cells responsible for fat in bone marrow and consequent disease
Our bones are not stagnant, rock-like things. They change. Marrow—the tissue inside bones—is full of various kinds of cells. And ...
Wade’s genetics of race overestimates evolution’s impact on human culture
In his latest book, Nicholas Wade, a longtime science journalist, argues that evolution by natural selection created human races with ...
Later childbirth related to longer life for moms
Women who naturally conceive their last child after age 33 tend to live longer than those who have their final ...
Under guise of ‘free market’, stem cell start ups take sick patients for risky rides
Some companies are marketing stem cell therapies to sick patients long before they've proven them safe or effective while governmental ...
Tearing down bacteria’s walls offers hope for new class of treatment
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made a breakthrough in the race to solve antibiotic resistance. New research ...
Earliest case of irrigation-loving parasite found in Fertile Cresent
The law of unintended consequences may have a longer history than we thought. At a Neolithic settlement in the region ...
Turning foe friendly: Domestication of infectious disease
With the shortage of antibiotics and resistant infections on the rise, evolutionary biologists might provide alternative for curbing infections disease ...
Herpes viruses infected our ancient ancestors
About two-thirds of people are infected with one of two herpes simplex viruses, oral (HSV-1) or genital (HSV-2). New research ...
Computer program reads facial features to identify rare genetic diseases
Doctors faced with the tricky task of spotting rare genetic diseases in children may soon be asking parents to email ...
As much mystery surrounds Neanderthals’ evolution as their demise
The emergence of Neanderthals is just as mysterious as their disappearance about 30,000 years ago. A study of skulls from ...
What to do when medical genetic screening reveals unexpected parent
When children's genes are analyzed to understand medical conditions, "incidental" information about parents can be revealed. The medical community has ...
23andMe to work with FDA for approval
23andMe, the health and ancestry startup, is slowly but surely moving along in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's regulatory ...
Epigentics: sorting out the hype from the substance
We haven't written much about epigenetics for a while, in part because it's so trendy that it's impossible to know ...
Welcome to the strange new world of synthetic biology
Over the past decade, the ease of sequencing and creating DNA has improved so much that the possibilities of genetic ...
Genetics and beer consumption raise risk of mosquito bites
Blood type, metabolism, exercise, shirt color and even drinking beer can make individuals especially delicious to mosquitoes. You come in ...
Pesticide exposure during pregnancy may increase risk of autism
Pregnant women who live near areas where agricultural pesticides are applied experience a higher risk of delivering children with autism ...
Changing climates, mixing genes: Global warming may cause an increase in animal hybrids
A warming climate is shrinking many species' (e.g. polar bears, Bicknell's thrushes) habitats, to their detriment. It's also forcing many ...
Transhumanists target hunger with soy-based nutrition in third world communities
Can DIY-Soylent cure the pangs of World Hunger? Can the alchemists of future food collect sufficient funds to fill the ...
Brain responds to sunbathing like other addictions
Can't resist getting a tan despite the risks? It might be more than a habit. That's the suggestion from a ...
Birds evolved pattern recognition to spot cuckoo’s planted eggs
New pattern recognition software has shed light on the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and the birds they target. Cuckoos ...
Power to edit who you are
Gene editing in humans will soon become a treatment reality. But how will society determine which conditions deserve this treatment ...
Future of biofortified foods: Protests block advancement of super bananas and Golden Rice
Can biofortified crops really do any good in the world? Only if both sides of the biotech debate work together ...
Docs get guidance for patient genomes in practice
In a review article published this week (June 19) in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have released guidelines ...
Rapid gene test identifies bacteria in battlefield wounds
After an American GI is wounded in combat, his or her life depends on the speed of evacuation, the degree ...
