Karen Weintraub
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.
Stopping the ‘raging fire of Alzheimer’s’: Researchers shifting attention in fight against neurodegenerative diseases
Tau was long thought to be a secondary actor. Amyloid plaque builds up first, largely outside of neurons, followed by ...
These gene-edited pigs could eliminate shortage of human organ transplants
It’s what’s inside this animal that matters. Her body has been made a little less pig-like, with four genetic modifications ...
Could a pill make you need less sleep? This genetics research suggests it could happen
We all wish we could get by on less sleep, but one father and son actually can—without suffering any health ...
Personalizing pancreatic cancer treatment by growing, treating tumors in a dish
Only about 15% of advanced pancreatic patients are alive two years after their diagnosis. Margaret Schwarzhans has now made it ...
‘Why didn’t we think of this earlier?’ Immunotherapy could treat more than just cancer
Immunotherapy has transformed cancer care. Now the tools and new knowledge created by this strategy for treating disease by stimulating ...
Can you become addicted to pot? This gene increases your risk.
Danish researchers have for the first time identified a gene that increases the risk for cannabis use disorder. About 10 ...
Monkeys given gene-edited pig organs in quest to address human transplant shortage
In 2017, Harvard University geneticist George Church predicted that gene-edited pig organs would be transplanted into people within two years—maybe ...
Scientific challenges to CRISPR crops ‘largely settled,’ though political, social concerns remain
Soon, soybeans will be bred to yield oil without dangerous trans fats. Lettuce will be grown to handle warmer, drier ...
Will ‘common sense” keep us from making human clones?
Prominent scientists involved in cloning say they’ve never had any intention of replicating a person — and are as wary ...
Restoring sense of smell with a brain implant
After a concussion left [Scott] Moorehead without a sense of smell six years ago, these losses were all he could ...
Can adult brains grow new neurons? New study says yes.
If the memory center of the human brain can grow new cells, it might help people recover from depression and ...
‘Forest fire’ in the brain: How inflammation may spark Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s
[B]oth Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may be the results of neuroinflammation—in which the brain’s immune system has gotten out of whack ...
Gene from controversial CRISPR baby experiment could deliver new stroke treatment
A widely criticized experiment last year saw a researcher in China delete a gene in twin girls at the embryonic ...
Can we slow aging by killing off toxic cells? This small human study passed its first test
A red-hot anti-aging strategy quietly passed its first test earlier this year after 14 volunteers took drugs meant to kill off ...
‘Race’ may affect the way Alzheimer’s attacks the brain
Research on Alzheimer’s has mainly focused on Caucasians. New findings, however, suggest the disease process that leads to dementia may ...
Cataloguing every type of cell through the ‘Human Cell Atlas’
"No one really knows how many [types of human cells] there will be," [Aviv Regev] says. Immunologists had already counted ...
Game changer for cystic fibrosis? Discovery of new cell could alter quest for treatment
The discovery of a new type of cell could fundamentally alter how cystic fibrosis researchers seek a cure for the ...
Former Novartis chief Joseph Jimenez discusses breakthroughs in gene therapy, future of CRISPR in medicine
Editor's Note: Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez retired in January after eight years in the top job at one of the ...
Is it time to abandon the 14-day rule limiting human embryo research?
[A] group of Harvard University scientists has published a paper arguing that it is time to reconsider the 14-day rule ...
What one boy’s ‘Lazarus-like’ recovery tells us about the future of bio drugs
Shortly after Cameron Harding’s one-month check-up, his mother, Alison, saw that her newborn seemed to stop moving. She’d unwrap him ...
Can pigs solve our organ transplant shortage with help from CRISPR?
[B]iotechnology startup eGenesis [just] raised $38 million to fund a new effort to edit the DNA of pigs so they ...
Lifestyle changes can directly affect rate of aging, authors of ‘The Telomere Effect’ argue
The main message of “The Telomere Effect,” [authored by Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn and psychologist Elissa Epel] being published Tuesday, is ...
Gene mapping may raise false hopes, some scientists worry
Harvard geneticist George Church is convinced everyone should have his or her genomes sequenced. Such tests would reveal the rare ...
Neurons regrow connections in lab, challenging conventional dogma about mammalian brain
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Researchers at Stanford University ...
CRISPR that targets RNA could play major role in understanding, treating fatal diseases
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Researchers who discovered a ...
Geography trumps genes in determining lifespan
Living in the Southeast is bad for your health. There is a huge range in the death rates across American ...
Geneticists unraveling why autism strikes boys more than girls
It has long been clear that autism strikes boys more often than girls. But when girls do get the condition, ...
Baby with three genetic parents: Bioethics of mitochondrial replacement
Alana is apparently a normal, well-adjusted 13-year-old. But there is something extraordinary about her — every cell in her body ...