Have we leapt into commercial genetic testing without understanding it?
A new book argues that tests might reshape human diversity even if they don’t work.
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Diana Gitig
Associate Writer
dmgitig@gmail.com
Diana received her B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and then a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Genetics from Cornell. Now she is a freelance science writer and editor in New York. Diana likes rock climbing, yoga, swimming, baking, and eating yummy baked treats.
Recent stories by
Diana Gitig
The current war on science, and who’s behind it
A vaccine developer and a climate scientist walk into a bar write a book.
Diana Gitig
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348
How can you write data to DNA without changing the base sequence?
A new method lets anyone with a kit write data to DNA with just one enzyme.
Diana Gitig
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34
Is accidentally stumbling across the unknown a key part of science?
A new book argues that our ignorance is so large, lucky discoveries are inevitable.
Diana Gitig
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Nitrogen-using bacteria can cut farms’ greenhouse gas emissions
Nitrogen fertilizers get converted to nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
Diana Gitig
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Mutations in a non-coding gene associated with intellectual disability
A gene that only makes an RNA is linked to neurodevelopmental problems.
Diana Gitig
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43
Chocolate made with fewer calories, less waste
“Whole fruit chocolate” uses cocoa pulp and inner shell in lieu of sugar.
Diana Gitig
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Chemical tweaks to a toad hallucinogen turns it into a potential drug
Targets a different serotonin receptor from other popular hallucinogens.
Diana Gitig
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Most Read
What makes an orange? New study finds one gene, seven chemicals
Tracing an orange’s flavor could help us get both disease resistance and taste.
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New paper explains why females are prone to autoimmune diseases
A system that shuts down one of two X chromosomes is targeted by auto-antibodies.
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New E. coli strain will accelerate evolution of the genes of your choice
Strain eliminates the trade-offs of a high mutation rate.
Diana Gitig
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38
Would Luddites find the gig economy familiar?
Luddites were hardly the anti-tech dullards historians have painted them to be.
Diana Gitig
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308
Contact-tracing software could accurately gauge COVID-19 risk
Time spent with infected individuals is a key determinant of risk.
Diana Gitig
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47
Human brain cells put much more energy into signaling
Signaling molecules help modulate the brain’s overall activity.
Diana Gitig
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36
A locally grown solution for period poverty
A Kenyan tinkerer and Stanford engineer team up to make maxi pads from agave fibers.
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70
Gene variants that promote having more sex and kids diminish your life span
A literal life-or-death balance, playing out at the level of individual genes.
Diana Gitig
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109
New algorithm finds lots of gene-editing enzymes in environmental DNA
Some are related to DNA-cutting enzymes. Others are a complete mystery.
Diana Gitig
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64
Determinism vs. free will: A scientific showdown
Two books delve into what science may tell us about whether we have free will.
Diana Gitig
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424
Want to have your genes tested? It might be genetic
People in a genetic database have segments of DNA in common unexpectedly often.
Diana Gitig
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57
Context is everything: Why key developments often sit unused
The book Sleeping Beauties looks at everything—biology, skills, ideas—that lies latent.
Diana Gitig
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82
The lessons of a wildfire that destroyed a town and burned for 15 months
Until it hit, the local firefighters couldn’t conceive of something that ferocious.
Diana Gitig
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222
Your chocolate comes with a side order of deforestation
Developing economies pay a steep price for that sweet treat.
Diana Gitig
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95
Ready the Ig Nobel: Researchers incorporate used diapers into concrete
Used disposable diapers can be added to concrete without killing its strength.
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105
We can ID people from DNA that shows up in environmental studies
Advances in DNA sequencing mean privacy can be violated accidentally.
Diana Gitig
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34
Gene editing makes bacteria-killing viruses even more deadly
The viruses are engineered to damage essential E coli. genes.
Diana Gitig
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56
Link between herpesviruses and giant viruses no longer missing
Don’t be alarmed: They only infect plankton.
Diana Gitig
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25
When innovation goes south: The tech that never quite worked out
We don’t need new gadgets; we need to use antibiotics more sparingly.
Diana Gitig
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221
Are we ethically ready to set up shop in space?
A new book asks hard questions about whether we’ve thought through life in space.
Diana Gitig
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597
The return of Flat Earth, the grandfather of conspiracy theories
A new book argues Flat Earth beliefs provide a guide to conspiratorial thinking.
Diana Gitig
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613
What medieval attitudes tell us about our evolving views of sex
New book details how some attitudes changed less than their justifications.
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166
Antibiotic resistance induced by the widespread use of… antidepressants?
Bacteria evolve drug resistance more readily when antidepressants are around.
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105
Your next pour-over may be Liberica or excelsa
Climate change has coffee growers searching for alternative crop strains.
Diana Gitig
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198
Scientists discover a new supergroup of rare single-celled predators
Rare microbes form two branches of a supergroup, a classification above kingdoms.
Diana Gitig
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53
The Moon landing was faked, and wind farms are bad
In Germany, opposition to wind farms correlated with conspiratorial thinking.
Diana Gitig
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236
Behavior-changing parasite moves wolves to the head of the pack
A parasite associated with bold behavior is also associated with pack leadership.
Diana Gitig
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51
Biotechnology is creating ethical worries—and we’ve been here before
A new book explores 3 capabilities that are here now, whether we’re ready or not.
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