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.
2 million years: Oldest DNA ever discovered unearthed in plant and animal remains in Greenland
Genetic material from the elephant relative mastodon, cedar and spruce has now been discovered in a warmer Greenland of yore ...
Will AI chatbots help address shortage of genetic counselors?
A text messaging-based approach to communication could provide a convenient avenue for patients to access genetic counseling ...
Here’s how curly hair helped early humans survive
Tightly coiled locks protected our ancestors against the burning sun, scientists have revealed ...
Brains and sex: There are developmental, cognitive and maturation differences between boys and girls
Do differences in cognition reflect differences in brain connectivity between boys and girls in late childhood? ...
Viewpoint: Capitalism and technology — Whose interests does AI serve, and what unrecognized dangers about data privacy are around the corner?
A.I. researchers obsess over the question of “alignment.” How do we get machine learning algorithms to do what we want ...
Do you find horses flighty, anxious or affable? Dozens of genes shape equine personalities — and are linked to traits in humans
Eighteen potential personality-related genes in horses have been identified by researchers in Japan. The efforts of Tamu Yokomori and his ...
‘Will you have sex with me?’ How evolution has shaped differences between male and female desire
Human sexual psychology evolved to cope with ancestral adaptive problems over millions of years. Males and females face different evolutionary ...
Addressing childhood trauma: Could epigenetic gene editing reduce the likelihood of developing mental illness?
Many researchers now think that childhood trauma biologically embeds itself in our bodies, alters how our genes work and puts ...
‘It looks like you stuck your finger in an electric socket’: 10-year-old finds pride in ‘uncombable hair’ syndrome tied to genetic mutation
Most people have a bad hair day now and then - but Sam Barley celebrates his unique unruly locks every ...
Is long COVID ‘psychogenic’? Challenging claims that the disease is ‘all in the head’
In the early months of 2020 as Covid swept the world, I was a science writer with a mandate to ...
68% decline in animal populations? Journalists misreport Living Planet Index study. Here are the facts
The Living Planet Index is the biodiversity metric that always claims the headlines. It’s often misinterpreted. How should we understand ...
Cognitive health over age 70: Who has the highest risk of dementia, those who are single or married?
People who are married have a lower risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment after the age of 70 ...
Race and genetics: Gene found exclusively in people of African descent predisposes some Blacks to Alzheimer’s
A gene variant found almost exclusively among people of African descent appears to substantially raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease, ...
Climate change ripple effect: Rising temperatures allow mosquitoes to spread across Africa, bringing malaria with them
Mosquitoes that transmit malaria have moved away from the Equator by about three miles per year over the past century, ...
‘Foreign accent syndrome’: How a cancer patient who never visited Ireland developed an ‘uncontrollable brogue’
A US man developed an "uncontrollable Irish accent" after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, despite having never visited Ireland, researchers ...
No human genome has ever been read in its entirety before. This year, that might change
No human genome has ever been read in its entirety before. This year, scientists expect to pass that milestone for ...
Cure for binge drinking? This endorphin-blocking pill could help people consume less alcohol
A medicine used to treat people with severe alcohol disorders could also be helpful for others against binge drinking, a ...
‘Love is a biological necessity’: Here is how deep attraction affects the brain
What happens in your brain when you’re in love? Decades of research finds that love’s reaction inside the brain models ...
‘Opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach’: Every Australian child with cancer eligible for genetic testing and precision treatment
A ‘precision medicine’ program that is expected to reduce deaths and improve life spans is about to be rolled out ...
How cloning, gene editing and synthetic biology can help humanity stop the anticipated sixth extinction crisis
The world has entered the sixth extinction crisis with the loss of species having a devastating impact on the biodiversity ...
Dog breeds do not always determine behavior: Inside the quest to recategorize dog lineages
Genetic studies of dogs have often found that breed does not determine a dog's behavior. New research suggests lineages, not ...
Evolution of expression: Why is the ability to read faces so important to humans?
Among the many distinctive traits of humans istheir ability to communicate with each other. While the most readily apparent form ...
Clues to possible new treatments for tuberculosis: Genetic mutation that leads to Gaucher disease may protect Ashkenazi Jews from TB
In research published February 6 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Cambridge scientists – with colleagues in ...
Johann Gregor Mendel: The victory of statistics over human imagination
In 2022, we celebrated 200 years since the birth of Johann Gregor Mendel. Although his contributions to science went unrecognized ...
At-home biohacking using CRISPR to edit DNA? You can do it with a kit
Genetic engineering using CRISPR from the comfort of home might seem futuristic, but you can do it right now ...
How long do you ‘naturally’ sleep? Scientists unwrap genetic factors
Flies reveal secrets of sleep: Aggie biologists are joining forces with the University of Pennsylvania to solve the mystery of ...
Viewpoint: ‘How can we ensure that AI technologies currently being developed are used for the common good, rather than for the benefit of a select few?’
Over the past few years, the AI ethics discourse has revolved around two questions we have touched on already. How ...
