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Articles on Sickle cell disease

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Anemia symptoms include shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue. Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Anemia afflicts nearly 1 in 4 people worldwide, but there are practical strategies for reducing it

Among young children, adolescents and adult women, anemia strikes 1 in 3 globally. Most cases are driven by dietary iron deficiency, red blood cell disorders and untreated tropical diseases.
DNA editing has the capacity to treat many diseases, but how to do this safely and equitably remains unclear. KTSDESIGN/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Human genome editing offers tantalizing possibilities – but without clear guidelines, many ethical questions still remain

Following the controversial births of the first gene-edited babies, a major focus of the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing was responsible use of CRISPR.
Our ancestors’ environment and diets, and the limits of our biology, have led to adaptations that have improved human survival through natural selection. But we remain prone to illness and disease anyway. (Shutterstock)

Evolutionary medicine looks to our early human ancestors for insight into conditions like diabetes

Evolutionary medicine uses our ancestral history to explain disease prevalence and inform care for conditions like Type 2 diabetes. It also challenges the bio-ethnocentrism of western medicine.
Even without drugs, nets or an understanding of what caused malaria, human bodies were still fighting against the parasite – and winning. from shutterstock.com

How our red blood cells keep evolving to fight malaria

Today, human populations carry heavy genetic marks from the war with malaria. And it is the red blood cell (erythrocyte) that mostly bears the scars.
A child in Senegal waiting to be tested for sickle cell anaemia - in parts of Africa up to 40% of the population can carry the sickle cell gene. EPA/Pierre Holtz

Explainer: one day science may cure sickle cell anaemia

Genetic mutations that affect our blood cells’ haemoglobin are the most common of all mutations. It has been estimated that around 5% of the world’s population carry a defective globin gene. Haemoglobin…

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