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.
Olympic medicine: Are elite athletes really healthier than the rest of us?
As Los Angeles Times science writer Jon Bardin wrote in a recent article, “There are numerous genetic factors known to ...
Is personalized medicine a myth?
The intersection of technology, science, medicine and design has led to an explosion of apps for monitoring blood pressure, glucose ...
New gene mutation associated with Congenital Myopathy
University of Michigan researchers have discovered a new cause of congenital myopathy: a mutation in a previously uncharacterized gene, according ...
Sea creature called lancelet’s genetic mistake was a big win for humans
How did we arrive where we are? A dainty, quill-like sea creature called a lancelet provides the best evidence that ...
Genes influence whether psych drugs lead to weight gain
Researchers have discovered two genetic variants associated with substantial, rapid weight gain in people taking antipsychotic medications. The researchers said ...
First genetic sequence of individual human sperm
Sperm cells can look the same with a similar tadpole appearance. However, the cells showcase differences among the genes. Recently, ...
Early Africans mated with mystery species of humans
The human family tree just got another — mysterious — branch, an African “sister species” to the heavy-browed Neanderthals that ...
New genomic sequencing method enables ‘smarter’ anaysis of individual cells
Research published in the July 22 issue of Nature Biotechnology, shows for the first time that a novel genomic sequencing ...
Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease research makes advances with stem cells
Two groups of Parkinson's and Huntington's researchers working in 13 labs nationwide have used advanced stem-cell technology to make human ...
What causes stem cells to become harmful cancer cells? Scientists may have discovered the reason why
Stem cells hold great promise for the medicine of the future, but they can also be a cause of disease ...
After media pressure, insurer relents, makes exception to pay for kids’ genetic tests
WellPoint Inc. says it will pay for DNA testing for three children to see whether they have inherited from their ...
The great gene-patent debate contines: Does it help or hinder research?
An ongoing legal battle over gene patents has led many scientists to ask whether such claims help or hinder research ...
Stem cells show promise as heart failure treatment
Scientists who used modified stem cells to rejuvenate damaged and aged heart cells from elderly heart failure patients say their ...
Vast gene study raises hope for colon cancer drugs
More than 200 researchers investigating colon cancer tumors have found genetic vulnerabilities that could lead to powerful new treatments. The ...
Want to fight wrinkles? Some south Floridians are trying the “stem cell makeover”
It’s fairly widely known that stem cells can mean life-saving treatments for deadly diseases. Now, they are being used in ...
The future is now: Gene therapy to take flight in Europe
After many years of crushed expectations, gene therapy could be close to a victory: a regulatory approval ...
Enzyme’s ability to ‘hop’ as it moves along DNA offers tips on epigenetic gene expression
UC Santa Barbara researchers' discovery of a variation of an enzyme's ability to "hop" as it moves along DNA, modifying ...
Can apple stem cells give women straight hair?
Apple stem cells from a rare Swiss apple, called the Uttwiler Spätlauber, are rich in hydrogen, phytonutrients, antioxidants, proteins and ...
Rewiring DNA circuitry may help treat asthma
Reprogramming asthma-promoting immune cells in mice diminishes airway damage and inflammation, and could potentially lead to new treatments for people ...
Why black athletes dominate the sprinting world
View the original article here: Why black athletes dominate the sprinting world ...
The healing power of stem cells: Clinic treats ailments with patient’s own stem cells
What if the body could heal itself? Physicians at Rejuv Medical in Sartell are using the patient’s own stem cells ...
Stem cells ‘boost kidney transplants’: Promising implications for the future of organ transplants
“Stem cells beat kidney rejection,” says BBC News. The broadcaster says that an injection of stem cells given alongside a ...
European regulators back western world’s first gene therapy drug
European regulators have recommended approval of the Western world's first gene therapy drug -- after rejecting it on three previous ...
Nanoscale scaffolds and stem cells show future promise for cartilage repair and joint pain
Johns Hopkins tissue engineers have used tiny, artificial fiber scaffolds thousands of times smaller than a human hair to help ...
Of flies and men: Scientists make interesting discovery of how flies regulate sex genes, could be important for humans in the future
What do you get when you dissect 10 000 fruit-fly larvae? A team of researchers led by the EMBL-European Bioinformatics ...
FDA balances costs, patient safety in the biologics and personalized medicine revolution
Sometimes what you see is not all you get. Whether or not you support healthcare reform, the implementation of any ...
Is Elvis in your children’s DNA future? Furor develops over possible use of ‘celebrity’ genes
A British artist’s plan to create a mouse with Elvis Presley’s DNA as part of a larger project to exploit ...
