Ian Sample
‘Morally permissible’: Genetically altered babies get nod from UK ethics panel
The creation of babies whose DNA has been altered to give them what parents perceive to be the best chances ...
Evolution of the eyebrow and why it’s so important for communication
Modern humans might never have raised a quizzical eyebrow had Homo sapiens not lost the thick, bony brows of its ancient ...
Infographic: Gene editing and CRISPR in action
Much of the excitement around gene editing is fueled by its potential to treat or prevent human diseases. There are ...
3-parent embryos: UK doctors identify two women to undergo breakthrough, controversial procedure
Doctors in Newcastle have been granted permission to create Britain’s first “three-person babies” for two women who are at risk ...
Google’s self-learning AI starts with blank slate and ‘creates knowledge itself’
Google’s artificial intelligence group, DeepMind, has unveiled the latest incarnation of its Go-playing program, AlphaGo – an AI so powerful that ...
Children receive four times as many genetic mutations from dads than moms
Children inherit four times as many new mutations from their fathers than their mothers, according to research that suggests faults ...
Biological countdown: Male fertility fights the clock, too
For men who are reluctant to start a family, it is an age-old defence: there is no need to rush ...
IQ-DNA connection deepens: 40 genes identified that contribute to intelligence
The research on 60,000 adults and 20,000 children uncovered 40 new genes that play a role in intelligence, a haul ...
Step toward synthetic life: Genetic code expanded from four to six letters
[T]he first living organisms to thrive with an expanded genetic code have been made by researchers in work that paves ...
Are we slowly breeding our way to stupidity?
A study from Iceland is the latest to raise the prospect of a downwards spiral into imbecility...The scientists used a ...
Discovery of gene mutations for motor disorder leads to treatment in children
Doctors have discovered a new genetic disorder that robs children of the ability to walk normally and makes it hard ...
Gene variant may influence coffee consumption by slowing metabolism
A gene that appears to wield influence over the amount of coffee people drink has been found by scientists who ...
Dolly the Sheep’s creator wants to create ‘biobank’ to preserve endangered animals
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. A modern-day “ark” that ...
Does promise of germline therapy warrant risks?
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. The genetic engineering of ...
Gene linked to heightened suicide risk identified
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Genetic tests on depressed ...
Will palm-sized DNA sequencers be a staple of the future?
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. An inexpensive handheld device ...
UK researchers call for national debate on ethics of genetically modifying embryos
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Leading UK research funders ...
Diets personalized to people’s biology could help curb disease
Scientists have created bespoke diets using a computer algorithm that learns how individual bodies respond to different foods. Researchers believe ...
Creativity and mental illness share genetic markers
The notion of the tortured artist is a stubborn meme. Creativity, it states, is fuelled by the demons that artists ...
Genetics, social trends lead moms to delay having children
Women are starting families later in life despite an apparently stronger genetic drive to have children when they are younger, ...
Longevity and Alzheimer’s risk both linked to one gene
People who carry a mutated gene linked to longer lifespan have extra tissue in part of the brain that seems ...
Potential obesity drug acts as a meal in a pill
A drug that works like an “imaginary meal” has been developed by US scientists who believe it could help combat ...
Device allows people to alter mouse genes through mind control
Scientists have created a mind-control system that allows a person to alter the genes in a mouse through the power ...
Beyond evolution, transhumanists’ visions for the human race
Homo sapiens were not always so special. In the ancient past, other human forms lived beside us. The Neanderthals in ...
Success for new embryonic genetic testing
Doctors in London have reported the first pregnancy in Europe from a new IVF procedure that checks embryos for genetic disorders before they are ...
European scientists boycott Brain Project attempt to fit brain onto computer
The world's largest project to unravel the mysteries of the human brain has been thrown into crisis with more than ...
Neanderthals not extinct from lack of smarts
Scientists have concluded that Neanderthals were not the primitive dimwits they are commonly portrayed to have been. The view of ...
New evidence that being gay influenced by DNA
A study of gay men in the US has found fresh evidence that male sexual orientation is influenced by genes ...
