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
Gene Therapy 3.0: Rise and fall and rise again of gene therapy–For real this time?
Gene therapy is seeing a renaissance after a long period of skepticism about its failed potential. What are the new ...
Too much and too little: Delicate balance of knowing risk and treating disease
One woman seeks out her genetic risk for familial breast cancer and finds she has a potentially lethal mutation for ...
Forced sterilization in Peru: Did modern eugenic practices slow population growth?
The Peruvian government is alleged to have used coercive methods to sterilize thousands of indigenous women and men to control ...
Genetic information: How much to share, how much to keep private in age of Big Data
Genetics and computational biology are evolving so quickly that it’s impossible to predict the medical answers that they’ll reveal in ...
Tired? Biological clock out of whack? Blame genes and epigenetics
We spend a third of our life asleep, so getting it right is important. Researchers probing our daily biological clock—our ...
Slowing the aging process: How the Mediterranean diet preserves your chromosomal telomeres
People who stick closely to a Mediterranean diet were found to have longer telomeres—a biomarker of aging found at the ...
Personal genomics and gene editing revolutions beg for global regulatory rethink
The scientific impact of personalized genome editing is easy to imagine: Designer babies, lab grown meat and the end of ...
DNA of Niemann-Pick disease victims might offer clues in finding Ebola cure
Niemann-Pick is a debilitating disease that retards movement and development of an infants ability to think and reason, as if ...
Warrior genes? Genetic screens for “evil” traits likely to remain science fiction, at least for now
The idea that people who are might commit a crime can be identified in advance of any wrong doing has ...
Glyphosate used with GMO crops under attack for disrupting microbiome: Science or a gut feeling?
Despite professional science and health organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science ...
Couples can protect children from devastating mutations with new IVF methods
IVF clinics are moving beyond chromosome counting to offer families a more in-depth genetic analysis of embryos before implantation. This ...
Are we Martians? DNA survives entry into Earth’s atmosphere–Are planets source of life?
Exposed to the high temperatures of rapid transit through the upper atmosphere, DNA, the hereditary material in all life, survives ...
Unravelling Ebola via early detection
Could monitoring the genetic activity of white blood cells be the key to catching Ebola before it becomes symptomatic and ...
Of mice and men: Comparing genetics raises new questions about reliability of rodent studies
The laboratory mouse really lies at the foundation of numerous life science studies, but is it an appropriate model in ...
Sorry Dr. Oz and Jenny McCarthy: More scientific proof vaccines, GMOs don’t cause autism
Despite the loud voices of disinformation, the scientific community has overwhelmingly agreed that there is no causal link between vaccines ...
Genetics may explain why many near Fukushima nuclear disaster unaffected by radiation exposure
People fear the effects or radiation, particularly in the aftermath of nuclear disasters, but not all the health news after ...
Canada gearing up to pass law against genetic discrimination
Canada is gearing up to pass a law against genetic discrimination. How is the rest of the world dealing with ...
Depression researchers look ahead for ‘golden age’ of research by drawing on cancer’s track record
Advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment could yield valuable insights for depression researchers, who struggle to understand the role of ...
Immunorepertoire: New slant on personalized medicine
Antibodies and T cell receptors recognize all of the proteins in our bodies, and thereby provide a record of everything ...
Can you think your way out of the depression box?
A form of therapy that focuses on changing negative thoughts and behaviors is showing promise in the treatment of depression ...
Sex in space: What does the future hold when space tourism catches on
The recent crash of Virgin Galactic notwithstanding, we are on the cusp of an era of space tourism. We just ...
Human obesity and livestock growth: Are antibiotics the link?
Patients often request and use antibiotics thinking they have no long-term effects of the medications. But work on the human ...
Profile of a personal genetics company: PHENOMBio
Interest in personal genomics sites that provide insight into the link between your genes and disease proclivities is booming. But ...
Cost benefits of cancer screenings get political in the UK
Cancer screening have helped save many of lives, but have shifted the demographics of who gets the disease. Should we ...
Food Babe flops on BRCA mutations: Understand genetics or go home
Charlatans like Food Babe, Dr. Oz, Joseph Mercola, and Vandana Shiva represent everything disgraceful about unscientific propaganda. Cancer misinformation is ...
Fatal Retraction: Downside of early cancer detection
Google recently promised to develop early-detection technology for cancer, heart disease and strokes. While early diagnosis might seem like a ...
Rationalizing health risks difficult, especially when emotions in play
From Ebola to breast cancer screenings, people have a difficult time understanding where their health risks truly lie. Our emotional ...
