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.
Orphan genes spawn from junk DNA
Despite orphan genes' seeming incompatibility with evolutionary theory, they're actually an example of natural selection at its finest ...
George Church does not want you to have a Neanderthal baby
The following is an excerpt. Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church found himself at the middle of a viral ...
Immune cells engineered in to resist HIV
The following is an excerpt. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a novel way to engineer key cells of ...
David Cox, genomics pioneer emblematic of Pfizer’s new era, dies unexpectedly
The following is an excerpt. David Cox, a geneticist and senior vice president at Pfizer, has died unexpectedly, the company ...
Genome sequencing reveals driving mutations behind common brain tumor
The following is an excerpt. Large-scale genomic sequencing has identified two DNA mutations that appear to drive about 15 percent ...
Using genetics to predict succeptibility to depression
Current genetic tests for major depression have more to offer as a curiosity to a diagnostic or preventative tool. This ...
Human bone reveals ancient gene flow patterns
A 40,000 year old leg bone found outside Beijing reveals this man was related to the ancestors of many present-day ...
Neanderthal clones unlikely, experts say
ABC NewsHarvard Prof Says Neanderthal Clones Possible but Experts Doubt ItABC NewsBut I don't think it will ever happen," said ...
Why black people are good at sports
The following is an excerpt. We have all noticed it when watching NFL, NBA, or track and field, the lion’s ...
Quadruple helix DNA could target disease
The following is an excerpt. Cambridge University scientists say they have seen four-stranded DNA at work in human cells for ...
DNA study sheds light on aboriginal Australians’ heritage
The following is an excerpt. When modern humans left Africa as far back as 70,000 years ago, they dispersed across ...
Geneticist on DNA privacy: Make it so people don’t care
The following is an excerpt. Worried that your genetic information could be revealed? You should be, says Harvard geneticist George ...
Quadruple DNA helix discovered in human cells
The following is an excerpt. Quadruple helices that intertwine four, rather than two, DNA strands had been made in the ...
Why China is a genetic powerhouse with a problem
The following is an excerpt. In the South China city of Shenzhen, a thriving manufacturing hub known for cheap goods ...
The trouble with epigenetics
The following is an excerpt. Further, genetic analysis of adaptations that have arisen in evolution (like differences between closely related ...
Is it possible to clone a Neanderthal?
The following is an excerpt. In an interview with Der Spiegel, geneticist George Church made some headlines by claiming that it will ...
FDA approves new flu shot using recombinant DNA technology
The following is an excerpt. A new flu shot, Flublok, made using new technology, has just been approved by the ...
Autism and genetics: It’s complicated
The latest news in autism and genetics, courtesy of Laura Blue writing at Time Healthland: In one of the largest-ever ...
Study highlights the privacy risk of donating your genome
If you contribute your genome sequence anonymously to a scientific study, that data might still be linked back to you, ...
Leprosy bug turns adult cells into stem cells
Leprosy bacteria can reprogram cells to revert to a stem-cell-like state, able to mature into different cell types, researchers report ...
Depression gene search disappoints
A massive effort to uncover genes involved in depression has largely failed. By combing through the DNA of 34,549 volunteers, ...
The genetic mystery of the woman who doesn’t grow
Twenty year old Brooke Greenberg hasn’t grown since age five. For the last 15 years mystified doctors have been unable to explain ...
GE bacteria could lead to better vaccines
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a menu of 61 new strains of genetically engineered bacteria ...
Complex behaviors driven by remarkably simple genetics
Humans engage in a lot of complex behaviors, but many of them are learned. Genetics gives us a nervous system ...
DNA from the bottom of Greenland’s ice sheet reveals a lush, green landscape in the past
DNA residues drilled up from Greenland’s ice sheet base reveal a green, lush landscape before the great island became covered ...
Women with a family history of breast cancer could be offered preventative medicine
The IndependentWomen with a family history of breast cancer could be offered preventative ...The IndependentThe NHS may also start offering ...
Human enhancement could turn soldiers into weapons that violate international law
Memory-erasing drugs to ward off PTSD; co-opting the physiology of dolphins and sled-dogs to work all week without sleep few ...
