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.
Look into the past: Researchers recreate face of ‘oldest human’ with 45,000-year-old skull
Scientists have revealed the face of what may be the 'oldest human' to walk the Earth - a woman who ...
Are eating disorders hereditary?
Today scientists believe that mental illnesses are highly complex and may be associated with hundreds or possibly thousands of genes ...
Viewpoint: 60% of people with sickle cell disease live in sub-Saharan Africa. Gene-based cures must be accessible to everyone
The treatment of sickle cell disease is on the cusp of a historic breakthrough, with makers of two gene-based treatments for the ...
Questioning the miracle of life: How did an inanimate universe ‘create’ fire, water and humans?
How did an inanimate universe become animate? That question has been the cause of wars and the inspiration for many ...
Reducing pollution, treating cancer, boosting gut health? How genetically-modified microbes can transform our world
Microbes are ancient—they were evolving on the planet for millions of years before humans came along. So it’s no surprise ...
Lab-grown human eggs: Startup aims to transform stem cells into eggs, helping infertile people have babies at any age
Conception is trying to accelerate, and eventually commercialize, a field of biomedical research known as in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) ...
Exposed but never caught COVID? Lucky genes may protect you
Researchers found that people who carry a genetic variant of a protein found on cell surfaces are less likely to ...
‘Nothing short of a miracle’: Surgeons reattach boy’s head after car accident
Surgeons in Israel performed a miracle surgery and managed to reattach a boy’s head after he was hit by a ...
As many as 1 in 7 people are diagnosed with a personality disorder, but what does it really mean?
Personality disorder: There are 10 different types, but what exactly is it and what does it mean to receive such ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why newborn genetic screening is so crucial
Taken as a whole, rare diseases are common, afflicting more than 30 million people in the United States and more ...
Fighting ‘sextortion’: Artificial intelligence helps prevent fake sexually explicit images used to blackmail victims
Innocent beach pictures or men's bare-chested gym pictures can be twisted into sexually explicit, AI-generated "deepfakes" that are weaponized against ...
Viewpoint: ‘Instead of science and technology leading to post-humanism, perhaps it will lead to a slightly more human condition’
What it means to be human, then, is not a constant, but continually constituted, altered and re-constituted ...
When does our atmosphere end and space begin? The answer is — up in the air
Outer space is fundamentally different from what we experience down here, isn't it? But is there a boundary? ...
This sheep has horns like a male — but a female reproductive system. Some animals are naturally intersex
In rare cases, humans can also be born with both male and female reproductive organs, and the same goes for ...
Is there a simple way to test for signs of Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear?
Doctors’ reliance on symptom-based testing could soon change taking a backseat to biomarkers: telltale signs of the disease ...
Viewpoint: 5 lies Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spread about vaccines, healthcare and more
A longtime vaccine skeptic, Mr. Kennedy is leaning heavily on misinformation as he mounts a long-shot 2024 campaign ...
Viewpoint: Breakthroughs in effort to create ‘synthetic’ embryos have sparked criticism — but the research could help us reduce prevalence of miscarriages and genetic disorders
Are human embryo models a cause for hope or alarm? A recent breakthrough in the race to create ‘synthetic’ embryos ...
He Jiankui’s new gene editing experiment: China’s CRISPR baby scientist aims to prevent Alzheimer’s with similar — but safer — experiment
The Chinese scientist who was at the center of global condemnation for altering babies’ genes wants to use a similar ...
Biotechnology giant: Does China now lead the world in human and agricultural genetic engineering?
For many people, when they hear China and genetic engineering in the same sentence, it is often synonymous with scandal, ...
Ideal way to administer drugs, take diagnostics, and more? The untapped medical potential of the vagina
The vagina has huge untapped medical potential. Scientists are only just beginning to investigate the organ's many healthcare applications ...
Bisexuality: Nearly 10% of Americans report having had both male and female partners — three times more than in 1994
A new study shows that bisexuality—being attracted to or engaging in sexual behavior with people of both sexes—has tripled in ...
How will humans make it through climate upheavals? Here’s how we’ve done it before
New research conducted by an international team, published in the journal Science, reveals that early human species were capable of ...
‘They’re both breakthroughs’: Two new obesity drugs that could be cheaper and more effective than Ozempic on course for approval
Hormone mimics offer advantages even beyond those of the potent weight-loss shots on the market now ...
Newest malaria vaccine protects 80% of vaccinated children — but accessibility remains major stumbling block in Africa
Nigeria approved a promising new malaria vaccine. It's called R21, and in early trials, up to 80% of kids who ...
Out-of-body experiences explained: Here’s how the brain ‘creates’ your sense of physical self
New insight comes from zapping a region, known as the anterior precuneus, that causes people to feel dissociated from their ...
Viewpoint: How ‘predictive AI’ is changing healthcare for the better
The quality of predictive AI can be measured, generative AI models produce different answers ...
‘He spreads dangerous misinformation’: Kennedy Family condemns presidential candidate RFK Jr’s anti-vaccine rhetoric
Apparently, those of us who don’t think much of RFK Jr.’s ignorance about vaccines and pseudoscience often wondered if the rest of ...
