Science
Articles written for the GLP list the source as Genetic Literacy Project. All other articles were written for the sources noted with excerpts provided by the GLP.
Quest to find molecule that sparks multiple sclerosis yields promising discovery
Researchers have long suspected that a self-antigen—a normal molecule in the body that the immune system mistakenly treats as a ...
Sustainability failure: Anti-GMO France’s 10-year effort to slash pesticide use boosted spraying by 12%
In 2008, the French government announced a dramatic shift in agricultural policy, calling for pesticide use to be slashed in ...
Mexico’s new science minister fiercely skeptical of GMO crops and new breeding techniques
In early June, evolutionary developmental biologist Elena Álvarez-Buylla received an out-of-the-blue phone call from the campaign of Andrés Manuel López ...
How a broken gene may have given us the ability to become ‘marathoners’
A new study in mice pinpoints how a stretch of DNA likely turned our ancestors into marathoners, giving us the ...
‘Jumping’ genes responsible for strawberry sexes show how fast plants evolve
[S]eparate sexes may seem fundamental to nature, but they’re an oddity for most plants. Now, scientists have figured out how ...
Scientists could save American Chestnut Tree with genetic engineering—if regulators let them
Two deer-fenced plots here contain some of the world’s most highly regulated trees. Each summer researchers double-bag every flower the ...
Promising HIV treatment fails in human trials
When Science published a monkey study nearly 2 years ago that showed an anti-inflammatory antibody effectively cured monkeys intentionally infected ...
Gene drives could speed up inheritance of certain beneficial traits in mammals, study finds
Researchers have used CRISPR, the genome editing tool, to speed the inheritance of specific genes in mammals for the first ...
Blood test could tell doctors when to use immunotherapy against cancer
Some cancers generate the seeds of their own destruction. Certain random mutations that accumulate in rapidly dividing tumor cells can ...
‘Trying to recreate Neanderthal minds’ using minibrains
[R]esearch teams are engineering stem cells to include Neanderthal genes and growing them into "minibrains" that reflect the influence of ...
Three genes that changed the course of human brain evolution
Three nearly identical genes could help explain how 0.5 liters of gray matter in early human ancestors became the 1.4-liter ...
Video: Our bodies continue ‘ticking right along’ after we die
When you’re dead, you’re dead—right? No pulse, no brain activity, no signs of life. But at the cellular level, things ...
Viewpoint: Pesticide regulations should assess societal context, not just safety
Apart from the inherent scientific complexity, the glyphosate case illustrates a fundamental societal issue. The mere fact that the European ...
How genes affect your dog’s athleticism—and what we might learn about ourselves
Compare the sprinting Shetland sheepdog with the sluggish St. Bernard, and it’s clear a dog’s genes play a large role ...
Can scientists keep white nationalists from misusing population genetics research?
Stormfront and similar online forums, as well as the comment sections on “alt-right” news websites and Twitter accounts, regularly host ...
Single gene variant could explain why Peruvians among world’s shortest people
Hundreds of genes influence how tall a person is, but most make an imperceptible difference—perhaps a millimeter, for example. Now, ...
Ancient DNA analysis reveals Botai hunter-gatherers first domesticated horses
[W]ho first domesticated horses is a hotly debated question. One leading hypothesis suggests Bronze Age pastoralists called the Yamnaya were ...
Could pre-pregnancy genetic screening help with difficult child-bearing decisions?
Pregnancy comes with many unknowns. Perhaps one of the most harrowing is whether a child will be born healthy. Now, ...
Is this ancient hashtag just a decoration or the first human symbol?
About 100,000 years ago, ancient humans started etching lines and hashtag patterns onto red rocks in a South African cave ...
Ancient DNA suggests South Asians descended from 3 Eurasian groups—hunter-gatherers, farmers, herders
[A] study of the first ancient DNA recovered from South Asia shows that populations there mingled repeatedly thousands of years ...
Are we moving closer to detecting cancer through blood tests?
The elusive dream is that a simple blood test could detect a small tumor growing in your body, giving doctors ...
Can ‘gene drives’ for crop pests work in the real world?
The spotted wing fruit fly is one of the world’s major crop destroyers. Scientifically known as Drosophila suzukii, this peppercorn-size insect ...
Review: David Reich’s ‘Who We Are and How We Got Here’ fails to examine ethical issues around DNA research
In Who We Are and How We Got Here, David Reich gracefully describes how recent advances in genomics have enabled ...
Uncovering ‘hidden stories of slavery’ in modern Latin American DNA
If you walked the cobblestone streets and bustling markets of 16th and 17th century Mexico City, you would see people ...
Proposed Chinese cancer mega-center named after Nobel laureate James Watson may refocus on precision medicine
James Watson, the Nobel laureate who turns 90 this week, was front and center on a red-carpeted stage before an ...
Ancient DNA from mysterious culture highlights North Africa’s role as ‘important crossroads’
About 15,000 years ago, in the oldest known cemetery in the world, people buried their dead in sitting positions with ...
Evolution’s way: Odd survival strategies in the face of scarce resources and predators
Nature has a lot to teach us. As part of our special package, we explored how animals, plants, and bacteria use ...
Italian election results in rise of anti-science political parties opposed to GMOs, vaccines, animal testing
The outcome of ... parliamentary elections in Italy was a stunning victory for populist and nationalist parties, and a clear ...
