Human Genetics Features
The GLP tackles innovations in human genetics and biotechnology. We highlight the work of our own writers, as well as that of contributors from around the Web. The GLP does not take a position on genetics-related issues; any opinions expressed belong to the authors.
Categories include:
- CRISPR and gene editing
- Gene therapy
- Stem cell research
- Genetic diseases
- Synthetic biology
- Epigenetics
- Biodrugs (pharmacogenetics)
- Personal genomics
- Ancestry and evolution
- Ethics and regulations
Investigation: Are results of cancer studies reliable?
Why are so many studies not reproducible? The Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, an open-source replication project, aims to examine this ...
Blood test can prevent suicide? How to prevent “biomarker porn”
Biomarker testing is the shiny new thing. Some scientists claim they can predict complex mental disorders. It would be nice ...
Precision medicine–Next new thing or over hyped bust? (Or both?)
Precision medicine struggles to fulfill its promise as a next generation solution to disease prevention ...
Deeply religious Jimmy Carter embraces cutting edge science in cancer battle
Former President Jimmy Carter is doing what he can to prevent nature from running its malignant course, undergoing immunotherapy, which ...
Controversial recommendation: American College of Medical Geneticists warns against Alzheimer gene tests
Citing inconclusive results and lack of medical treatments, the national authority on genetic testing recommends against not to test for ...
Donald Trump’s debunked claim linking autism to vaccinations highlights danger of fad hysterias
Will the Republican frontrunner's comments linking vaccines to autism prompt parents to delay vaccinating their children? ...
Genetic testing lags for mental illness, forces parents to internet
Genetic counseling for potential mental illness in children should be just as responsive as counseling for "physical" disease. Right now, ...
Proof in the poop: Genetically modified bacteria may be used to treat digestive ailments
On the horizon is the delivery of genetically-engineered bacteria into the human gut that can diagnosis gastrointestinal conditions, or even ...
Wrongful birth: Court upholds parental rights when hospital and lab screw up genetic testing
Many conservatives are upset about a $50 million judgment on behalf of a family that had a baby with severe ...
Will sugar, sweetener, salt, cholesterol, fat, HFCS, (fill in blank) kill you?
Scientists, the media and policymakers often make glib connections between certain foods, nutrition and disease. The links are a lot ...
Pig in us: Xenotransplantation and new age of chimeric organs
Xenotransplantation may move beyond just valves to entire scaffolds of pig organs, refurbished with human cells that make the organ ...
Should GMO drugs be perceived differently than GMO food?
Many of the same people who express outrage over genetic modification because it 'tinkers with Nature' are silent or supportive ...
Do you have the Ashley Madison gene?
The Ashley Madison leak has exposed the identity of millions of philanderers or would be adulterists. It raises the intriguing ...
Want to make money off genome sequencing? There’s an app for that
Helix, a growing DNA sequencing company, moves into direct-to-consumer genetics with a plan for the first genome app store. Will ...
Designer viruses and precision medicine: New findings for the future of gene therapies
Precision and personalized medicine have at their heart the promise of targeting diseases with specialized therapies specific to certain types ...
Black death plague is back; Correction it never left, thanks to evolution
Yes, the dreaded plague still haunts it. Why? Because as with any species, the bacteria that cause the disease have ...
Don’t blame evolution for war
Despite the chance of acquiring wealth and power, whole war doesn't make life better. But engaging in a little violence ...
ADHD mystery: Claims of no attention deficit disorder in France challenged
Some say low French ADHD rates reflect poor diagnoses. Others say they show ADHD isn't biological. Geneticists say they're working ...
Are laws pertaining to Down syndrome genetic counseling cause for concern?
A spate of state laws passed in the last few years mandates what information health care providers must give to ...
Miss your deceased dog? Pet cloning dips below $100,000
The pet cloning wars have commenced in South Korea, sending the price of cloning your dog or cat spiraling downward....but ...
Robot exoskeletons: Medical applications far ahead of military use
Otherwise non-ambulatory people are learning to use robot exoskeletons to get up from their wheelchairs. Military applications portrayed in science ...
Promising future of delayed fertility? Don’t count your (frozen) chickens
Affluent women or those willing to take on sizable debt and want to delay having babies can freeze their eggs ...
Meet blebb: To treat addiction, would you agree to have your memory erased?
Scientists have found a way to keep memories made while using meth from becoming permanent, erasing the lure of drugs ...
Genetics may open door to new treatments of mental disorders
Mental disorders are notoriously hard to treat. We now know that many psychological diseases are rooted in our DNA. That's ...
Bees, breastfeeding and epigenetics: Can nutrition alter our genes?
What a bee eats can determine Queen Bee status. Although our eating habits may not deliver us a royal life, ...
Sci-Fi suspended animation: Not the same as cryonics but might save your life
Surgical research into hypothermia, long fodder for sci-fi movies, may yet reach the point of finding ways to preserve people ...
While UK embraces life-saving germline editing, US mired in debate as promising life-saving cases go untreated
Thousands of women with mitochondria disease have no hope of having children without genetic editing or assisted reproduction techniques. Critics ...
