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
Can the same regulatory systems that now oversee GMOs work for synthetic biology?
As synthetic biology is poised to leave labs and enter our lives, questions about regulation are cropping up. Can existing ...
Persistence of the massive microbiome myth
Scientists and layman alike have long touted the estimate that microbial cells outnumber humans by 10 to 1. While that ...
Apes R’ Us: Online misogynists wrongly hide behind the veil of ‘human nature’
As celebrity nudes were leaked online, hackers and their supporters justified the behavior by claiming that men are hardwired to ...
Who makes better space travelers–introverts or extroverts?
Is the long-run future of civilization to select-for those who are introverts? Is intro/extroversion genetically mediated? How might extended space ...
Stem cells: Stalled promises
Fifteen years ago, stem cell therapies captivated the public’s perception of emerging medical treatments and offered the promise of replacing ...
Start genetic literacy young: Take your family to “Unlocking Life’s Code” touring exhibit
“Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code” is an initiative of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the National Human Genome ...
Ebola virus response “inadequate” to match new potential mutations
The virus poses new challenges: the possibility of mutations that would make containing its spread more difficult and fears it ...
Diet soda and sweeteners alter gut bacteria, contributing to obesity? Not so fast.
According to a just-released study in Nature, rather than helping you avoid consuming fat-producing calories, sugar-free sodas and 'diet' snacks ...
Advanced cancer screenings find early, slow growing cancers more often than fast aggressive ones
As cancer screenings grow more sophisticated, the chances of finding small, slow growing cancers has increased rapidly, at great cost ...
How brushing your teeth affects the microbiome of the placenta and infant
I’ve written in the past regarding some of the seminal hypotheses of how the microbiome influences our health, behavior, and ...
Live to be 100+? Extreme longevity research is futuristic privatized enterprise
When longevity research is privately funded, what happens when the money runs dry? ...
Evolution do-over might lead to the same place
Scientists have often wondered if evolution happened all over again, what would life on earth look like? A Harvard biologist ...
Do cancers act as a DNA time machine?
Are cancers an evolutionary atavism, revealing the genetic history of humankind? Might physicists be the key to winning the War ...
Human enhancement upsets extremists on left and right
The prospects of a fast-approaching Age of Enhancement evokes caution in almost everyone, scientist or otherwise. It has been the ...
Call it what it is: Mitochondrial replacement does not a three-parent baby make
Mitochandrial replacement offers hope to families debilitated by disease. But opponents stoke fear of public by dumbing down the science ...
New IVF technique may cut multiple births, complications
Although IVF has been used for decades and is considered very safe, the procedure does increase pregnancy risks because it ...
Chimpanzee’s highly heritable intelligence window on human IQ
General intelligence in chimpanzees appears to be about 50 percent heritable, which lines up with work on the genetics of ...
Addiction: How our genes program our preferences and habits
Just 11 genes successfully identify who is likely to have problems with alcohol abuse and who will not. Does this ...
Genetics of intelligence: many, many genes with tiny effects
The explanation of the inheritance of intelligence has long been studied, but without any blockbuster results. A new study adds ...
Personal genetics consumers risk uncovering uncertain paternity
Personal genomics products continue to have unintended consequences that end either in joyous occasion, but often times also come with ...
Who owns your DNA? It’s not who you think
Recent court cases show the law favors hospitals and law enforcement rather than individuals when it comes to handing genomic ...
Genghis Khan and the role of power, wealth and behavior in human genetic ancestry
Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan marked 16 million males as his progeny after he conquered Eurasia with his sons and brothers ...
Is “reductionism” in behavioral genetics a boon or curse?
Reductionism haunts modern genetics, but how has this approach — akin to taking apart a watch to see how it ...
Genetic short cuts: Horizontal gene transfer
Some plants rely on specialized bacterial backup to help them synthesize nutrients. Instead of evolving these traits over and over ...
Humans’ love for simple stories and status quo make opinions intractable in face of fact
Popular opinions about complex issues in science and technology are often held to even when facts and experts are presented ...
Deconstructing the polarizing debate over ‘3-parent babies’
On most issues, the public debate follows a normal distribution curve, with the majority in the 'muddled middle'. That's not ...
Parasite practices genetic mind control to spread infection
Toxoplasma gondii, the parasitic infection that may infect almost half the worlds human population uses some special trick to control ...
