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.
Wegovy users aren’t just eating less — they’re drinking and smoking less too
The anecdotes are increasingly impossible to ignore: Many people taking the new obesity drugs, whether Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Eli ...
Were T-rexes really that dumb? Correcting 7 major misconceptions we have about dinosaurs
Big and scary they may have been, but dinosaurs were by no means lumbering brutes. The more we learn about them, the ...
‘It’s no wonder that music, like language, is universal among us’: Rhythm improves human cooperation, giving us a major survival advantage
Research team recorded songs in 55 languages to find that songs share certain features not found in speech ...
Grey giants or little green men? If there is intelligent alien life on other planets, what might it look like?
The search for alien life is one of humanity's greatest missions, but it may look nothing like anything we've seen ...
Bees can count, recognize human faces and learn how to use tools. Does that mean they’re conscious?
New evidence emerges of animals’ abilities to feel and process what is going on around them, could that mean they ...
Mounting heat waves come with more health dangers for those who take anti-depressants, allergy meds and related drugs
Millions of people across the country are taking medications that may make them more susceptible to heat-related illnesses ...
Which diseases are next on the horizon for CRISPR gene editing treatments?
This week top scientists in the field said gene editing's next chapter will be focused on tackling cancers and more ...
Should marijuana be reclassified by the government as less dangerous than heroin?
As has been reported, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is planning to move cannabis (marijuana) from Schedule I to Schedule III ...
We thought herpes was untreatable. Now, that might change
Virologists Martine Aubert and Keith Jerome are doing laboratory experiments to develop a gene therapy aimed at curing herpes ...
Are plants conscious? Field of ‘plant neurobiology’ aims to find out
Who has mind, and how do we know? While scientists increasingly agree that many animals are sentient, doubts remain about ...
Hollowed-out cheeks, sunken eyes, and excess skin: ‘Ozempic face’ plagues some weight loss drug users
'Ozempic face' – a term used to describe the hollowed-out cheeks, sunken eyes, and excess skin that can arise from ...
Murkiness of science around PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ dangers fuels tort lawyer bonanza
At an industry presentation about dangerous “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation ...
Vaccine misinformation and hesitancy spur sharp rise in US measles cases
The persistent false belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism continues to be problematic, especially the recent increase in measles ...
For the 75% of babies globally who are fed formula, this genetically engineered, nutritionally-enhanced plant-based milk could dramatically improve infant health
Worldwide, a majority of babies — approximately 75% — drink infant formula in their first six months of life, either ...
Microplastics have been found in our lungs, blood and brain. Should we be concerned?
Scientists are just beginning to understand the effect plastic in the body has on health, but research continues to push ...
Abortion pill remains legal for now, but ruling on technical grounds keeps door open for possible future ban
The justices’ unanimous ruling, in F.D.A. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, rejected a challenge to the most commonly used abortion ...
COVID origin mystery persists: Here are arguments for and against animal-to-human and Wuhan lab leak theories
The origin of the Covid virus remains the pandemic’s biggest mystery, with U.S. officials remain the most divided ...
Want to learn more about how genes have shaped your personality and health — but you’re wary of genetic data leaks? There may be a solution
New encryption method published in GENETICS allows researchers to maintain human data confidentiality without decryption in genomic analyses ...
Viewpoint: Artificial wombs could help preserve the fragile life of preemies, but more tests are necessary to understand if the hope eclipses the known science
A technology meant to help severely premature infants raises questions of inequity and may someday threaten parents’ rights to make ...
Common belief about periods: Women are less mentally agile during menstruation. Fact: Reaction times improve
Belief about periods: Women are less mentally agile during menstruation. Fact: Reaction times improve, according to new research ...
Viewpoint: Adaptogens — Don’t waste your money on the latest snake oil supplements
Now we have another term to add to the lexicon of dubious health claims – the “adaptogen”. The most common ...
Ban upheld prohibiting transgender swimmer Lia Thomas from competing in women’s races
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas failed in her challenge against rules that stop her from competing in elite women’s races because ...
Religion evolves, too: Before modern Christianity, God had a wife
In addition to inscriptions, researchers have found a number of small female ceramic figurines indicating God had a wife ...
‘Anthropocene’ debate: Scientists disagree over whether we are in a new geological epoch, and here’s why it matters
A panel of scientists rejected the term “Anthropocene” to describe a period in which humans have profoundly impacted the environment ...
Sniffing out pseudoscience is easier than you think — Here are 7 key ways
You can easily identify pseudoscience because it tries to appear scientific; however, its claims lack evidence ...
What’s in a name? Elephants, along with parrots and dolphins, appear to identify each other
Wild African elephants address each other with name-like calls, a rare ability among nonhuman animals, according to a new study ...
US girls are getting their periods younger than ever before. What’s causing early puberty?
Researchers say multiple factors are likely impacting early puberty, including obesity, stress and endocrine-disrupting hormones ...
