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.
Sir David Attenborough is wrong – humans are still evolving
Have we, in famed broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough's words, put a halt to natural selection? The short answer is ...
Four common genetic variants associated with blood pressure in African-Americans
Case Western Reserve University is part of a landmark study that has discovered four novel gene variations associated with blood ...
Uncritical “reporting” follows press release claiming earthly life came from Mars
Last week, researcher Steve Benner announced at a conference in Florence that a new analysis of Martian meteorites and some ...
New gene clue to ovarian cancer found in mice
UK scientists have found a gene in mice that, if faulty, may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. Mice lacking the ...
Clinics ethically free to dispose of thousands of embryos frozen in time, doctors’ group says
It is the most emotionally charged issue in assisted baby-making: how to “dispose” of the thousands of human embryos that ...
Human genome sequencing: the real ethical dilemma
If a genome does not always predict, it can identify, raising questions around privacy and access. Should medical DNA records ...
Bedbugs’ genes are the reason insecticides don’t work on them, new research suggests
They're every New Yorker's nightmare, and every would-be New Yorker's reason for staying away. When bedbugs strike, they're near impossible ...
Bird, rish, and fly cells reprogrammed
The ability to reprogram differentiated cells toward pluripotency has been a remarkable achievement, though its application has mostly been limited ...
Brain sleep, not beauty sleep? Switching off regrows cells
A study shows that sleeping activates a gene which allows certain types of brain cells to be replenished ...
Epigenetics sheds new light on altruism
Recent research in neuroscience and epigenetics is revealing more and more about the fundamental social nature of humans ...
The right to genetic ignorance
The intention behind routine genome sequencing is good, but could it obliterate the right to remain ignorant of potentially untreatable ...
Can you literally sniff out a genetically-ideal partner?
Could it be possible for suitable partners to literally sniff each other out, finding an optimal genetic other half using ...
Malcolm Gladwell’s value system: Doping is more honorable than genetic advantage
Malcolm Gladwell, whose 10,000-Hour Rule has been upset by Sports Illustrated scribe David Epstein's research for the book The Sports Gene, slid back into ...
Scientists use DNA to assemble a transistor from graphene
Graphene is a sheet of carbon atoms arrayed in a honeycomb pattern, just a single atom thick. It could be ...
Heart tissue regenerated with synthetic RNA
Cardiac stem cells have been converted into blood vessels in the damaged hearts of mice, with a new technology developed by researchers ...
The epigenetics of body clocks and metabolism: why when you eat matters
Few environmental factors are as reliable as the 24-hour day, and an evolutionary argument can be made for why the ...
Invitro meat and the future vegan carnivore
Chef Richard McGeown has faced bigger culinary challenges in his distinguished career than frying a meat patty in a little ...
The science and troubling ethics of gene therapy
Why is progress on gene therapy—the treatment of genetic disorders by giving sick people doses of the healthy genes they ...
Evolution as opportunist
Evolution is littered with examples of opportunism. Hosts infected by viruses found new uses for the genetic material the agents ...
Your genomic future: Personalised medicine is here
FOR the Yuska family, the future of medicine is here. Thanks to genome sequencing, parents Danielle and Erik have a ...
Promiscuous birds produce genetically stronger offspring, study shows
New research shows that when female birds mate with multiple partners, they produce genetically stronger offspring. Published Sep. 3 in the ...
The genetics of going under general anesthesia
Falling asleep in your bed at night and being “put to sleep” under general anesthesia – as well as waking ...
Heart gene therapy trial begins
It is 18 months since Carol Gedda suffered a massive heart attack. It left her with just 20% of her ...
Convergent evolution seen in many genes, including those for echolocation
A new study suggests that many genes evolved in parallel in bats and dolphins, helping each to develop their remarkable ...
Mating barrier theory of speciation called into question
While scientists have catalogued millions and millions of species, there is still no agreement on how exactly new species form ...
Alligator teeth could help humans grow new gnashers
USC researchers have uncovered the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind tooth renewal in alligators. The scientists found that when an ...
Does nature or nurture decide our sexuality? Could it be a little of both?
How much influence do genes have on gender and sexuality? Watch two prominent scientists debate vastly different answers to this ...
