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.
Viewpoint: Why IARC—an international agency that reviews cancer threats—needs to be replaced by a science-based alternative
IARC epidemiologists claim bacon is as bad for you as plutonium, that plants are little people, and sugar-free gum will ...
Reaching transcendence: Virtual Reality (VR) works as well as LSD or psilocybin to dissolve sense of individualism
On key metrics, a VR experience elicited a response indistinguishable from subjects who took medium doses of LSD or magic ...
An embryo was grown in lab without sperm, eggs or a womb. Here’s why scientists created it
Scientists have grown an entity that closely resembles an early human embryo, without using sperm, eggs or a womb ...
2.5 million years older than Lucy: Are 6-million-year-old footprints found on Crete from an ancient human ancestor?
Scientists believe that Homo sapiens, or modern humans, evolved into our present form approximately 300,000 years ago ...
‘Closest thing to human embryos yet’: Lab-grown fertilized cells more advanced and living longer than ever
Human embryo replicas: The lab-engineered models give scientists a look at human development beyond the first week ...
Is DNA a ‘natural resource’? China is the epicenter of genetic research, but is hoarding its discoveries
Some experts have warned that this genetic hoarding could make global research cooperation more difficult – and potentially backfire on ...
Brain-computer implants restore some speaking ability to paralyzed patients
Pat Bennett takes part in a research session, using a brain-computer interface that helps translate her thoughts into speech ...
Viewpoint: Medicinal doses of psychedelics can treat PTSD, depression and other disorders. Should we legalize recreational use?
Early studies into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics have been so promising that the Food and Drug Administration has designated ...
3-inch live worm found wiggling in woman’s brain explains mystery health symptoms
In a world first, scientists say an 8cm (3in) worm has been found alive in the brain of an Australian ...
Do opposites really attract? Partners in most successful relationships share political views, education levels, drinking habits and more
Scientists find that most partners have shared traits including political views, education levels and drinking habits ...
A gene therapy treatment for rare SMA syndrome costs $2 million dollars. What happens if it doesn’t cure the disease?
Spinal muscular atrophy, a rare inherited disorder which is the leading genetic cause of death in infancy globally ...
With a moon base expected by 2030, engineering space fuel is just one of many challenges scientists face
Scientists have developed an energy source which could allow astronauts to live on the Moon for long periods of time ...
Lab-grown babies: Synthetic eggs and sperm get closer to reality
The technique used to potentially develop lab-grown babies could hold the power to provide a novel treatment option for human ...
Light-therapy beds? Ozone generators? Rich biohackers integrate longevity-boosting gadgets into their homes
Light-therapy beds. Infrared saunas. Ozone generators. These homeowners have infused health and wellness into their properties, and then some ...
Is religion an artifact of small-brained superstition or a mark of our evolutionary advancement?
By about ten to seven thousand years ago, modern Homo sapiens were domesticating animals and plants and creating stable civilizations ...
Men were hunters, women were gatherers? New research challenges early assumed gender roles
New research contradicts the common belief that in foraging societies, only men hunt and women gather, revealing that women actively ...
Will ban on fruit-flavored vape and e-cigarettes bolster smoking addictions?
According to the Royal College of Physicians, the potential harm from vaping e-cigarettes is only about 5 per cent of ...
Fountain of youth? Understanding underlying aging mechanisms could expedite hunt for longevity treatments
How we age: Insights into the underlying mechanisms of aging are revolutionizing the hunt for longevity treatments ...
Ancient population crash: How humans almost went extinct
Humans may have been driven to the brink of extinction within the past million years, new research suggests ...
Long COVID cure? Can this debilitating illness be treated in just 3 days? A Norwegian study concludes ‘yes’
This treatment program is to be conducted in Øystese along Norway’s Hardangerfjord and has shown promising results for people with ...
Why has there been a surge in number of young women with breast cancer?
A study published last week in JAMA Network Open showed cancers are on the rise for younger Americans under 50, ...
Cold snap: How plummeting temperatures a million years ago almost killed off Europe’s earliest humans
A period of extreme cooling in western Europe may have driven away the continent’s earliest human species, researchers say ...
Grandiosity or self loathing: Understanding the sufferings of narcissists
Chances are you've encountered a narcissist, and they looked nothing like Trump, Musk or Modi. Up to 6 percent of ...
Why do humans have large brains? It may be because humans begin having sex later in life than other mammals
A very brainy biologist has devised a computer model that recreates the development of our cognitive contraption ...
Skin vision: How bizarre hogfish that ‘sees with its skin’ can help us develop robotic limbs and self-driving cars
Without a mirror, it can be hard to tell if you're blushing, or have spinach in your teeth. But one ...
Can you smell when it’s about to rain?
“We can smell different things both before, during, and after it rains,” researcher Anja Røyne says ...
Challenging the Africa human origin hypothesis: Turkish fossils suggest apes and humans may have shared earlier European ancestry
Human and ape ancestors arose in Europe: A newly described fossil suggests that the ancestor of humans and apes arose ...
