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.
Genome sequencing: How much do you really want to know about your future?
This past July, the New York Genome Center opened its shiny new doors in downtown Manhattan. The massive, sparkling multi-million dollar 21st-century ...
DNA tests show adulteration, contamination, and mislabeling of herbal supplements
Americans spend an estimated $5 billion a year on unproven herbal supplements that promise everything from fighting off colds to curbing hot flashes and ...
New techniques swap out codons across the genome
The language of life has been rewritten. A bacterium has had its genome recoded so that one of its genetic ...
Whole genome sequencing at birth might change everything
The National Institutes of Health recently funded BabySeq, a project to sequence the genomes of several hundred newborns and determine ...
Mutations in the brain
Not all genetic mutations are harmful. New research shows that mutations within neurons may be incredibly common, and even sometimes ...
Genetic clues in mammals could unlock secret to anti-aging
For years, scientists have studied how to combat old age. Now, new research suggests that genetic clues in mammals with ...
Are we headed for universal genome screening at birth?
Nearly all of the 4 million babies born every year in the United States undergo newborn screening for genetic disease ...
Earth’s first life may have sprung up in ice
If you thought life evolved in bubbling hot springs, think again. Pieces of RNA have been made that can copy ...
Your ancestors probably didn’t crawl
You have to crawl before you walk… unless you don’t. While crawling is considered a major developmental milestone in most ...
DNA testing is worth the potential loss of privacy
Should you be scared that employers would be able to find out from your genome structure that you carry the ...
We’re on the cusp of whole genome sequencing at birth
Professor Matt Brown, Director of the Diamantina Institute at the University of Queensland, predicts that whole genome sequencing at birth is about ...
Who deserves the Nobel for sequencing the human genome?
There's a political angle to having the 10th anniversary celebration for the human genome in 2013: it implies the NIH ...
Scientists invent new technique for DNA repair
Researchers from the Berkeley Lab have invented a new technique for detecting and repairing errors in the genetic code, which ...
DNA testing can help untangle roots for Africa-Americans
Interest in African origins surged in 1976 with publication of Alex Haley’s historical fiction “Roots: The Saga of an American ...
How we make breed behavior in working dogs
In a previous post, “What is a Livestock Guard Dog?,” I described what livestock guard dogs do but it is exceptionally important ...
Neuron diversity might shape personality and ability
Genomic analyses of single human neurons—either from postmortem brains or those derived in culture—reveal a considerable degree of DNA copy ...
Tiny genetic differences spin out new species in literal butterfly effect
A new study from the University of Chicago finds it’s genetically easier to spin off into a new species than ...
Craig Venter’s vision of the age of human-controlled evolution
J Craig Venter has been a molecular-biology pioneer for two decades. After developing expressed sequence tags in the 90s, he ...
‘Bubble kid’ success puts gene therapy back on track
Severe combined immunodeficiency was the first condition to be treated with gene therapy more than 20 years ago. A virus was ...
Scientists shrink brain cancer with new gene regulation technology
A new drug from Northwestern University shrinks an incurable form of brain cancer in mice, paving the way for a ...
Is HIV the hero that’ll help gene therapy rise above the hype?
We're seeing some successes in gene therapy, but cost remains an issue. Could a modified version of HIV save the ...
Gene-silencing could suppress genetic defect that causes Down syndrome
A team of researchers has demonstrated that the genetic defect that causes Down syndrome could be suppressed using the gene-silencing ...
Project Einstein: Are there genes for mathematical genius?
An entrepreneur in gene-sequencing wants to find out what genes are linked to mathematical ability ...
DNA studies show humans impact sea turtle genetic diversity
DNA studies of endangered sea turtles point to loss of genetic diversity caused by recent human exploitation, Australian scientists say ...
Do you share a haplogroup with Dracula?
Some Halloween fans take costuming to a whole other level. The wig will be just right, the make-up impeccable, the ...
Genetic testing raises hope for lung cancer treatments
A study of 5,000 patients found genetic profiling of lung tumours boosted survival rates through better targeting of chemotherapy drugs. The ...
Scientists ID new humpback dolphin species
It has always been difficult to determine how many humpback dolphin species there are. Many biologists think there are just ...
