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.
How long can you expect to keep the weight off after you stop taking Ozempic or Wegovy?
Research shows that Wegovy users receiving weekly injections can keep the weight off for up to four years ...
Our brains have gotten smaller over the last 100,000 years. What’s going on?
The brains of modern humans are around 13% smaller than those of Homo sapiens who lived 100,000 years ago ...
Genetic engineering to fight malaria: Oxitec-bred non-biting mosquitoes altered to carry a gene that kills deadly females before maturity released in Djibouti
Tens of thousands of (GMO) mosquitoes have been released in Djibouti to stop the spread of an invasive species that ...
What makes humans great long distance runners?
Endurance running when hunting for game shows that it may be just as efficient as other more traditional hunting methods ...
A new start on life: Deaf 18-month-old Opal is youngest child to have hearing restored by gene therapy
Baby from England, is the youngest child to come close to “normal hearing levels” in a gene therapy trial to ...
Darwinian survival guide: Evolutionary biologist gives his advice in the face of disruptive climate change
Adaption of humanity: An evolutionary biologist and a science fiction writer walk into a bar... and mull over survival ...
‘I’m being discriminated against based on the genes I was born with’: Should insurance companies have access to genetic screening which can predict your likelihood of getting costly diseases?
As genetic testing becomes more widespread, some insurance companies are eager to access people’s results ...
Understanding stress: Hormone cortisol has a dicey reputation — but is it damaging as many people think?
Endocrinologists say people don’t need to be concerned about their cortisol levels or so-called “adrenal fatigue,” ...
Video: A squid with blinding high-beam lights? This adaptation helps this deep-ocean predator hunt down prey
The Dana squid has all the tools of a top ocean predator, including a pair of "headlights" it flashes at ...
More fertile years ahead: Are women on an evolutionary path toward delaying menopause well into their 50s?
In recent decades, people around the world, especially in wealthy, developed countries, have been starting their families later and later ...
Your genes might raise chances of having a heart attack during this presidential election year
People with high stress, along with anxiety or depression, are more susceptible to cardiac arrest, researchers found ...
‘Only hope left’: Is it too late for gene editing to rescue Australia’s endangered marsupial northern quoll?
In a laboratory in the University of Melbourne earlier this year, PhD student Pierre Ibri was running an experiment that ...
Question the shared evolution of all living beings? Here are 32 animals that share some human qualities
From chimps to Harvard students, many members of the animal kingdom demonstrate surprisingly human-like behavior ...
Viewpoint: Activists who sought to restrict access to abortion drug mifepristone cite Comstock Act to buttress their position. Here’s background on this 150 year old law
Activists who seek to revive this antiquated law share with Anthony Comstock,a similar view of women as subordinates ...
Is there an evolutionary explanation for human’s love of music?
In a new study, researchers found universal features of songs across many cultures, suggesting that music evolved in our distant ...
Number of illnesses that weight loss drug Wegovy likely could treat are growing
Research is accumulating showing that GLP-1s can protect against cardiovascular problems — even when weight-loss is minimal ...
Sweden vs. United States: Whose COVID suppression strategy was more effective in containing the pandemic and limiting impacts on school children?
COVID-19 cases and deaths internationally have fallen to their lowest levels in four years. The data now permits a comparison ...
Why is the human evolutionary tree so bushy and weird?
Human evolution might be more "bizarre" than we once thought, according to a new study. In the past, scientists believed ...
Comparing endoscopic bariatric procedure to the new weight loss drugs: Which results in a larger weight loss and is more cost-effective?
Interest in the latest generation of weight-loss drugs shows no sign of flagging, but a new study shows that a ...
Brain cancer vaccine? Researchers develop shot that reprograms body to fight deadly glioblastoma
In a first-ever human clinical trial of four adult patients, an mRNA cancer vaccine developed at the University of Florida ...
Viewpoint: COVID vaccines have exceedingly rare but serious side effects. Why didn’t we listen to the people who had bad reactions?
The Covid vaccines, a triumph of science and public health, are estimated to have prevented millions of hospitalizations and deaths. Yet even the best vaccines produce rare but ...
Viewpoint: ‘Real IVF industry regulation is long overdue. But consumer protection is not enough’
For the first time since the Bush-era stem cell debates, reproductive technology has taken center stage in American politics. An ...
Cement has major environmental impacts. This new process could provide plentiful, energy-efficient carbon-negative building materials
An abundant mineral called olivine can help make carbon-negative cement. This process could help tackle cement’s large carbon footprint – ...
Is AI infiltrating scientific publishing? Rise of ‘suspicious’ tell words popping up in published papers
Researchers are misusing ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots to produce scientific literature. At least, that’s a new fear that ...
What might a Neanderthal woman look like? Here’s a digitally recreated face
A new documentary has recreated the face of a 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal whose flattened skull was discovered and rebuilt from hundreds of bone fragments by ...
What is ‘menopause brain’? Imaging shows dramatic structural changes in midlife that can impact behavior
For decades, some doctors have told women that the brain fog, insomnia and mood swings they experience in midlife are “all ...
Some people hit 80 years old while retaining exceptional memories. What goes on in these ‘super-ager’ brains?
When it comes to aging, we tend to assume that cognition gets worse as we get older. Our thoughts may ...
