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.
Viewpoint: ‘The central tenets of progressivism are actually autistic traits’ — Anti-vaxxer Toby Rogers’ latest trope links vaccines to progressive political views and Trumpism
Antivax transphobe Toby Rogers got the bright idea that many of the central tenets of progressivism are actually autistic traits ...
Gender and precaution: Is it just a stereotype that men are more likely to take unnecessary risks?
A new study from The University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University has found evidence of what’s long been ...
COVID lab leak hypothesis gains traction again — Broad Institute molecular biologist cites 5 key arguments
Although how the pandemic started has been hotly debated, a growing volume of evidence — gleaned from public records released ...
‘It’s the (number of) calories, stupid!’: USDA report, top food expert challenge claims that ultra-processed foods driving obesity epidemic
Ultra-processed foods — demonized for years for their supposed effect on our waistlines — do not actually make people fat, ...
Making CRISPR treatments work for everyone: Genetic data that underpins key gene editing system has a big diversity problem
There’s a significant impediment to maximizing CRISPR’s potential for developing novel therapies: the lack of diversity in genetics research ...
Battling disease: What happens when you blend generative AI and CRISPR gene editing?
Much as ChatGPT generates poetry, a new A.I. system devises blueprints for microscopic mechanisms that can edit your DNA ...
Scientists face increasing harassment and criticism of their work. Do they need our protection?
As researchers increasingly face many kinds of attack over their work, there is debate about how to support and protect ...
Tired of doing household chores? Now you can buy a robot to do it
1X Technologies has already created a humanoid robot that is in the workplace. Next year, they will launch a robot ...
Treating disease with electricity? There are potential benefits to hacking the body’s circuitry
In the early 2010s, electricity seemed poised for a hostile takeover of your doctor’s office. Research into how the nervous ...
How and why did dogs develop ‘puppy eyes’?
Large and droopy “puppy-dog eyes” did not just evolve in domesticated dogs to appeal to humans, as scientists had previously thought, according ...
Viewpoint: Will the public be able to afford one-time gene therapy for hemophilia just approved by the FDA?
Science may be advancing rapidly but as Crispr therapies start heading to the clinic the funding of research seems to ...
Cannabis and anxiety: Some people self medicate while others claim it causes more problems. What does the latest research say?
A study of cannabis users suffering from anxiety found that they reported reductions in anxiety over the study period ...
Viewpoint: Will RFK Jr.’s anti-vax beliefs thwart his run for presidency?
Robert Kennedy Jr. is obsessed with the notion that vaccines cause autism, particularly that thimerosal, causes autism ...
‘We are machines—but astoundingly complex ones’: Philosopher Daniel Dennett on how human consciousness evolved
Daniel Dennett believed that we are, in a sense, machines—but astoundingly complex ones, the result of millions of years of ...
Controversial party drug MDMA poised for FDA approval to treat PTSD
The FDA is poised to approve the notorious party drug as a therapy. Here’s what it means, and where similar ...
Auto-brewery syndrome: The woman who was drunk all the time but never took a sip of alcohol
Auto-brewery syndrome is a rare condition in which bacteria & fungus in the gastrointestinal tract turn the carbohydrates in food ...
Ideological censorship: Professor Alan Sokal on why Nature and other publications should get out of the social justice business and back to science
A scientist’s political and social values should be put to the side to reach objectively true conclusions when evaluating evidence ...
Viewpoint: Seven reasons to say no to genetically modified humans
Ending experiments that engineer the traits of future children, who will then pass on those altered genes and traits ...
Oxford University shuts down Elon Musk’s favored transhumanist institute, a leader in the ‘effective altruism’ movement
Nick Bostrom’s Future of Humanity Institute closed this week in what Swedish-born philosopher says was ‘death by bureaucracy’ ...
What can Chesapeake Bay tell us about how and when humans first made it to the Americas?
The story of the first Americans has long been a matter of public and scientific fascination, undergirded at times by ...
Can you beat the house in sports wagering? Some people think AI might be your best bet
Advanced artificial intelligence is already changing the face of professional sports. AI-generated analytics and algorithms can more precisely track such metrics as ...
1 in 9: More than 10% of US children are diagnosed with ADHD, as surge that began in 2016 continues
Diagnoses of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have surged in the United States over the last several years, according to a new ...
Nuance needed: Teen social media use has positive influences as well
Researchers, media and politicians all tend to focus on the negative aspects of social media, according to psychologist and researcher ...
Why this endangered horseshoe crab species is drained of blue blood to save human lives
Horseshoe crabs’ special blue blood is drained and used to test whether vaccines and medicines are dangerous ...
Criminals want quick gains. Here’s how AI is making their life easier
Generative AI provides a new, powerful tool kit that allows malicious actors to work far more efficiently and internationally ...
Wegovy and Ozempic: How do GLP-1 weight-loss drugs work?
Here’s a primer on Ozempic and other popular drugs being widely used for diabetes, weight loss, and obesity ...
Cockroaches: How a South Asian vermin unexpectedly conquered the world
A ubiquitous household pest has unexpected origins. A cockroach that lives in human dwellings all over the world is known ...
