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.
California: Conflicts come to light at stem cell institute
The following is an excerpt. With a new chairman, Jonathan Thomas, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine claims it has turned a page. Thomas ...
Synthetic blood: First human trials to take place in Scotland
Researchers in Scotland have received the go-ahead to set up a facility to manufacture synthetic blood from stem cells, bringing ...
Honey bee navigation gene identified
The following is an excerpt. In a new study, researchers report that a regulatory gene known to be involved in ...
Camel genome decoded
The following is an edited excerpt. Researchers have sequenced the genome of a Bactrian camel named Mozart, laying down the ...
Efforts to revive extinct species miss the point
The following is an excerpt. “We will get woolly mammoths back.” So vowed environmentalist Stewart Brand at the TED conference ...
Warding off the flu with gene therapy
The following is an excerpt. In 2009, a global collaboration of scientists, public health agencies, and companies raced to make ...
Mistakes in ‘junk DNA’ linked to cancer
The following is an excerpt. "Junk DNA" makes up about 98 percent of the human genome, an enormous accumulation of ...
Genetically modified mosquitos can’t find human prey
The following is an excerpt. Scientists have discovered that mutating a smell-related gene in mosquitoes hinders their ability to sniff ...
The biology of identity
Are your talents, traits, and insecurities so deeply embedded in your genes that they’re basically inevitable? ...
Gene linked to congenital heart disease
The following is an edited excerpt. A new gene associated with a form of congenital heart disease in newborn babies ...
Largest genetic study of developmental disorders in children underway in UK
The following is an edited excerpt. By analyzing the genes of children with undiagnosed developmental disorders and those of their ...
The forecast on the race, genetics, and intelligence debate
The following is an editorial summary. It is often said that race is a social fact and a biological fiction ...
Is the media storm around Angelina Jolie raising awareness or increasing misunderstanding?
The following is an excerpt. Angelina Jolie’s New York Times op-ed about her preventative double mastectomy continues to generate news ...
What makes us human: genetics, culture or both?
The following is an edited excerpt. Was there a single trigger that kickstarted the human revolution? Undoubtedly genetic mutation played ...
Marketing to the big data inside us
Start-up "Miinome" plans to create a club that stores the DNA data of genome-sequenced people ...
RNA bandages to encourage wound healing
The following is an excerpt. Medical researchers think specially tailored RNA sequences could turn off genes in patients’ cells to ...
Finding a genetic cause for severe childhood epilepsies
The following is an excerpt. A large scientific study has discovered new genes causing severe seizure disorders that begin in ...
Canada: Lobbyists push for DNA swabs after arrest
The following is an excerpt. A growing number of law enforcement representatives are calling for new powers to collect DNA ...
Hacking biotechnology: Do-it-yourself wonders and worries
What happens when you mix the do-it-yourself ethos of hacker culture with the ethically and emotionally fraught landscape of biotechnology? ...
Stem cell therapy for dogs
The following is an excerpt: Stem cell therapies that could one day lead to a cure for diabetes percolate in ...
Biological computer uses DNA in calculations
The following is an excerpt. A biological computer - the most advanced one ever developed - has been created by ...
Genetic mutations linked to ALS identified
The following is an excerpt. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified mutations in several new genes ...
California bill to prevent genetic testing without consent
If you want to keep your DNA to yourself, be sure not to leave any stray hairs, Q-tips or underwear ...
First genomic survey of human skin fungal diversity
The following is an excerpt. While humans have harnessed the power of yeast to ferment bread and beer, the function ...
Schizophrenia symptoms eliminated in genetically modified animal model
The following is an excerpt. Overexpression of a gene associated with schizophrenia causes classic symptoms of the disorder that are ...
Scientists discover molecular trigger for itching
The following is an edited excerpt. Once thought to be a low-level form of pain, itch is instead a distinct ...
Largest genetic sequencing study of human disease to date completed
The following is an edited excerpt. Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have led the largest sequencing study of ...
