Ed Cara
Articles written specifically for the GLP or articles that are reposted from other sources (sometimes in modified form) by agreement or with permission list the source as Genetic Literacy Project. Excerpted articles posted in our Daily Digests are identified as excerpts of posts culled from the web. Each Daily Digest post lists the original media outlet as the source next to the name of the author. Excerpts are posted under guidelines for Fair Use and Creative Commons for educational nonprofits (501c3). The GLP’s Fair use policy for posting excerpts and using images is explained here.
Puppy love: Dogs are born to understand people. Here’s how culture and evolution worked together
The fate of dog and man has been entwined for millennia (exactly how long is still a question, with estimates ...
‘Optogenetics’ miracle? Gene therapy and high-tech goggles partially restore sight to man blinded for 40 years
[A new gene therapy to treat blindness] relies on something called optogenetics. The idea is to edit nerve cells collected ...
‘Brain glue’: A new way to help people with traumatic brain injuries
Severe traumatic brain injuries, the sort caused by life-threatening accidents or assault that can send people into comas, are very ...
A nasal spray to fend off the common cold?
[An] experimental drug—delivered via nasal spray—could help the immune system fend off all sorts of respiratory infections. The treatment is ...
Morbid curiosity? This study records what some people’s last moments alive were like
There’s no shortage of morbid curiosity surrounding death. But according to the researchers behind this project, known as the Death ...
Ebola-like virus, Chapare, emerges in Bolivia
[A new] disease, caused by the Chapare virus, killed three people and is thought to have sickened at least five during [an] ...
‘We have absolutely no idea what the adverse effects of that could be’: What’s the science skinny on ‘brain boosting’ supplements
Nootropics, also called smart drugs, have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the supplement industry. They’re marketed as products that can ...
Why it will be so difficult to develop a vaccine to prevent opioid addiction
[P]atients taking opioids for chronic pain can produce antibodies to the drugs, which could help explain some of the side-effects ...
Science around coronavirus reinfection remains unsettled
[A] Vox article written by a primary care doctor in Washington D.C. laid out an imminent and frightening pandemic scenario, based on ...
Mystery inflammation syndrome connected to COVID-19 in children results in brain damage
[Children with COVID-19] can suffer everything from headaches to muscle weakness, along with visible signs of damage to the brain ...
We’ve successfully flattened the curve. Now get ready for an ‘agonizing’ COVID-19 plateau
As the summer gets into full swing and much of the country lifts its restrictions on distancing… it’s important to ...
‘A misunderstanding’: WHO backtracks on claim that asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus is ‘very rare’
The World Health Organization held a press conference on Tuesday [June 9] to clarify a surprising announcement it made a ...
Does the coronavirus ‘linger in the air’ long enough be dangerous? Why we can’t answer that question.
Scientists are debating a key aspect of the coronavirus that causes covid-19: whether the virus lingers in the air for ...
What’s real? Why ‘false memories’ are trouble for police, juries and judges
In 2015, memory researcher and psychologist Julia Shaw and her co-author published a study on false memories. Over the course ...
Second person cured of HIV after experimental stem cell transplant
A London man living with HIV who received an experimental stem cell transplant has appeared free of the virus for ...
Eliminating HIV by 2030 a real possibility, but ‘we’re not getting off to the right start’
During his State of the Union address in February, President Donald Trump reiterated a promise he had made a year earlier: By ...
We can eliminate cervical cancer by 2038
A preventable cancer might be virtually eradicated in the U.S. within the next two decades, according to a new study out ...
Immunotherapy breakthrough? CRISPR-edited immune cells proven safe for use in cancer patients in early stage trial
Now for the first time in the U.S., researchers say they’ve shown that CRISPR-edited immune cells can be safely given ...
How long will it take to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus?
As a newly discovered pneumonia-causing virus threatens to engulf China and spread far beyond its borders, governments and researchers are ...
Living without a sense of smell brings feelings of isolation and peril, study says
A recent study is one of the first to highlight the plights faced by a small segment of the population: ...
Cancer and heart disease contagious? It’s possible, through the microbiome, researchers argue
It’s a science lesson you probably learned in grade school: You can only catch certain illnesses, like the flu, from ...
Genetic mutation blamed for mysterious heart condition killing young members of Amish community
[D]octors at the Mayo Clinic say they’ve uncovered the cause of a mysterious heart condition that had suddenly killed over ...
Another benefit of regular exercise— ‘agile, fast-moving sperm’
Regular physical activity can keep a man’s sperm in tip-top shape, a new study suggests. The research was published [December 20] in ...
Mind games: Do placebos have a place in modern medicine?
Doctors in Australia commonly give their patients a placebo treatment intended mainly to ease their minds, according to a new ...
Does ‘brain plasticity’ explain why these people can still smell, despite not having olfactory bulbs?
Doctors there say they’ve found people who can smell just as well as anyone else, despite missing the key area ...
‘Holy grail of medicine’: Experimental drug promises to stop flu in its tracks—if it works in humans
We might be inching closer to a holy grail of medicine: an incredibly effective flu-killing drug that the virus can’t ...
Two copies of a gene from only a single parent—This ‘genetic quirk’ may not be as rare as we thought
A supposedly rare genetic quirk might be more common than we think, according to new research out [October 10]. The ...
Evolution in motion: Before birth, human fetuses develop—and then lose—lizard-like body parts
The evolutionary journey of any species is littered with detours and dead-ends. Humans, for instance, have vestigial body parts that ...
