Tuesday September 16th, 2014
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GeneTrends
Human
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jack the ripper depp
An armchair detective with a book to sell claims he has revealed Jack the Ripper's identity. His findings need to be confirmed by other scientists.
Agriculture
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GMOCorn
The GLP's executive director speaks at the National Academy of Sciences, which embarks on a comprehensive study of the �purported� benefits and challenges of genetically engineered crops and explores where the technology may be headed. The NAS report is expected to be published in spring 2016.
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Mitochandrial replacement offers hope to families debilitated by disease. But opponents stoke fear of public by dumbing down the science and using negative buzzwords.
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Although IVF has been used for decades and is considered very safe, the procedure does increase pregnancy risks because it often results in twins and triplets. New screening, used before an embryo is implanted, may eliminate the need to transfer more than one embryo for a health pregnancy, eliminating the chance of multiples and consequent risk.
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Despite the yuck factor, bacteria that colonize our bodies are proving to be an effective source of medical treatments including a new antibiotic derived from a vaginal microbe.
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A full slate of anti-GMO luminaries, including Gilles-Erich Seralini and representatives from the Center for Food Safety, Union of Concerned Scientists, ETC Group, Greenpeace and Consumers Union, dominated the narrative in the two days of discussion.
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Anti-GMO? Think organic foods are overhyped? Food politics is on the verge of becoming religion. If we haven't already, we're about to split into sects and factions, driven apart by ideological dogmas that have nothing to do with reality. Everyone loses.
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New York Times columnist Paul Krugman describes how critics of Obamacare stay misinformed, not only because they have incorrect information but because they expose themselves to only "friendly" information sources which limit what is reported. Does that also describe why activist critics of GMOs reject the scientific findings about genetic engineering?
The prospects of a fast-approaching Age of Enhancement evokes caution in almost everyone, scientist or otherwise. It has been the subject of countless dystopian sci-fi novels. But the future may be now�and maybe we should welcome it.
We now know that in part Lamarck was right: Our environment can alter our genes. In this probing look, GLP contributor Ben Locwin explores other biological factors influence that until recently most scientists had assumed were exclusively the province of our DNA.
General intelligence in chimpanzees appears to be about 50 percent heritable, which lines up with work on the genetics of human intelligence and further strengthens a genetically based understanding of our defining trait as humans.
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