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.
Stem cell therapy to treat a chimp’s torn ACL may prove beneficial for humans
Veterinarians hope a new medical procedure can treat a 25-year-old chimpanzee with a torn ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, at ...
Genes are overrated, genetics is underrated
A few days ago Nathaniel Comfort pointed me to this post, Genetic determinism round-up. If you are curious go read ...
‘Faithful judgments’ in bioethics
It's a bit of a cliché to point out that the new reproductive and genetic technologies (NRGTs) have a way ...
Melanoma sequencing reveals genetic effects of sun damage
Whole genome sequencing of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has confirmed the long-held belief that greater sun exposure ...
Abraham’s genetic threads- Jewish genes
From looking at these patterns of relatedness the authors infer that despite the genetic variation in the modern Jewry, most ...
European court decision has big implications for stem cell research
Brüstle v. Greenpeace, decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union, or CJEU, on October 18, 2011, changes ...
Lethal pufferfish genes could transform human dentistry
Human teeth can be engineered to regenerate, thanks to the world’s most poisonous fish. British scientists have been studying the ...
Methylating your muscle DNA
There’s more to your DNA than your DNA. We are now becoming aware of the epigenome. While DNA controls you, ...
Is choosing a sperm donor a roll of the genetic dice?
Sharine and Brian Kretchmar of Yukon, Okla., tried a number of medical treatments to conceive a second child. After a ...
Long-held genetic theory doesn’t quite make the grade, biologists find
New York University biologists have discovered new mechanisms that control how proteins are expressed in different regions of embryos, while ...
Study shows how mitochondrial genes are passed from mother to child
Research conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University helps answer some long-standing questions ...
Gene therapy extends mouse lifespan by 24 %
Scientists have successfully extended the lifespan of mice using gene therapy, a strategy never before employed to combat aging. The ...
Big promises backed by bad theory: Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is the newest purported cure-all technology for remedying our social, environmental, and public health ills. As many prominent ...
Doubling the information from the double helix
Our genes control many aspects of who we are -- from the color of our hair to our vulnerability to ...
First study of nausea genetics
RESEARCHERS are planning the first genetic study to help determine which patients are at risk of nausea and vomiting after ...
We’re all mutants now
The field of study called population genetics has played a critical role in the development of modern biology, helping unite ...
Cord blood banking takes off in India
Nagpur is emerging as a big destination for companies associated with 'cord blood banking' or CBB. In the last few ...
Wolf found in New Brunswick for first time in 150 years, testing confirms
Genetic testing has confirmed that an animal fatally shot last month by a hunter in northern New Brunswick was a ...
FDA approves experimental stem cell therapy to help deaf ear repair itself
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved a groundbreaking trial by the University of Texas Medical School at ...
Going hostile with $2.6 billion Human Genome offer
GlaxoSmithKline will take its $2.6 billion bid for long-time partner Human Genome Sciences direct to shareholders this week, after its ...
As gene mapping nears $1,000, will it improve our health?
The cost of mapping a person's full genetic profile has been dropping quickly. Now, doctors are struggling with a new ...
Tilghman reflects on DNA study
A solution to the ethical dilemma of using human embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases could be staring us ...
Fighting breed-related diseases
The refinement of purebred dogs over the past four or five centuries has created interesting versions of Canis familiaris, such ...
Researchers report a gene-therapy success
For a quarter of a century, gene therapy has been stymied, largely because the patient's immune system attacks the treatment ...
Pluristem stem cells save girl’s life
Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT: PLTR)has announced that a seven year-old girl suffering from an aplastic bone marrow whose ...
Sourcing stem cells from breast milk
A solution to the ethical dilemma of using human embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases could be staring us ...
Should we outlaw genetic discrimination?
The late US law Professor Paul Miller reflected recently that Beethoven, Stephen Hawking and Elton John were examples of individuals ...
