January 23, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – The Trump administration is preparing an executive order that would halt federal funding, at least temporarily, for a risky and controversial kind of research into viruses that makes the pathogens more dangerous or contagious. The goal … Read More
January 16, 2025
(Science) – Result could be first success at stitching a curative gene into a chromosome’s “safe harbor,” reducing cancer and other risks A little-known gene editor, tested with help from a disgraced gene therapist seeking redemption, may have cured a … Read More
January 16, 2025
(MIT Technology Review) – Neuralink did not reply to emails seeking comment, but here is what our analysis of its public statements leads us to expect from the company in 2025. How many people will get these implants?Elon Musk keeps … Read More
January 15, 2025
(Nature) – Proteins designed using artificial intelligence (AI) can block the lethal effects of toxins delivered in the venom of cobras, adders and other deadly snakes. The AI-designed proteins could form the basis of a new generation of therapies for … Read More
January 13, 2025
(Bloomberg via Yahoo!) – Neuralink Corp.’s brain-computer device has been implanted in a third patient and the company has plans for about 20 to 30 more implants in 2025, founder Elon Musk said. “We’ve got now three humans with Neuralinks … Read More
January 10, 2025
(Wired) – Cartilage cells that contain fat explain why some skeletal tissues are less rigid than others, and could one day be grown in labs to produce better materials for performing reconstructive surgeries. A newly discovered cell type could transform … Read More
January 8, 2025
(New York Times) – Variant Bio, a small biotech company based in Seattle, is using genetic information from Indigenous people to develop drugs for obesity and diabetes. When Stephane Castel first met with a group of M?ori people and other … Read More
January 7, 2025
(Wired) – Treatments for rare diseases are hard to create and expensive to deliver, but there is new hope for editing the software of the genome. For progeria and thousands of other genetic diseases, there are two reasons why this … Read More
January 7, 2025
(The Conversation) – The use of neurotechnology in the workplace has global implications and high stakes. Advocates say neurotechnology can encourage economic growth and the betterment of society. Those against neurotechnology caution that it could fuel inequity and undermine democracy, … Read More
January 2, 2025
(Financial Times) – What price immortality? Hal Finney, a computer scientist and early bitcoin user, placed his bets on cryonics: his body is preserved at Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona. Tech billionaire Bryan Johnson has availed himself of his … Read More
December 27, 2024
(ABC) – From a pig kidney transplant to restoring genetic deafness, 2024 was a year full of medical breakthroughs. The breakthroughs include the discovery of a cause of an autoimmune disease, the development of a “game-changing” drug and potential hope … Read More
December 24, 2024
(Reason) – A company called Gameto claims to have successfully matured eggs outside of the female body, a development that could revolutionize the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process. “We are thrilled to announce a medical milestone–the world’s first live birth … Read More
December 20, 2024
(Nature) – More than 100 clinical trials put stem cells for regenerative medicine to the test. It’s a turning point for a field beset with ethical and political controversy. The study is one of more than 100 clinical trials exploring … Read More
December 17, 2024
(Associated Press) – An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs. Towana Looney is the fifth American … Read More
December 17, 2024
(Wired) – The protective proteins in our bodies aren’t just great for fending off infection—they could also fight the effects of getting older. The antibodies can gum up the workings of a marauding germ or mark it for destruction by … Read More
December 17, 2024
(CNN) – A group of 38 scientists working in nine countries has sounded an alarm about the potential creation of mirror bacteria — synthetic organisms in which the molecular structure found in nature is reversed and could put humans, animals … Read More
December 13, 2024
(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) – Scientists say mirror image versions of life are possible: organisms built on molecules that, for example, don’t use the normal “right-handed” DNA of life on Earth, but a synthesized “left-handed” DNA instead. Although the capability … Read More
December 12, 2024
(The New Yorker) – A new kind of prosthetic limb depends on carbon fibre and computer chips—and the reëngineering of muscles, tendons, and bone. Surgeons traditionally sew down residual muscles when they amputate a limb. There are good reasons for … Read More
December 10, 2024
(Undark) – New dialogues are emerging about what comes next in biology, 25 years after completion of a draft of the human genome. In today’s world, post-genomic is built on two important ideas: that, as previously mentioned, doing genomics is … Read More
December 10, 2024
(Gizmodo) – While the exact fate of the misplaced samples is still unknown, they likely pose no danger to the public, government officials have said. A research facility in Australia is in hot water over losing track of its viruses. … Read More
December 6, 2024
(Reuters via U.S. News & World Report) – An animal testing laboratory at Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain technology company was found to have “objectionable conditions or practices” by the Food and Drug Administration, which cited the company and urged it … Read More
December 6, 2024
(Chicago Tribune via Yahoo! News) – A Chicago biomedical research hub backed by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, has produced its first published research — on discovering a way to monitor inflammation in real time … Read More
November 26, 2024
(Wired) – The genome-editing technology can be supercharged by artificial intelligence—and the results are already being felt. In my field, Crispr gene editing and genomics more broadly, we often deal with enormous datasets—or, in many cases, we can’t deal with … Read More
November 26, 2024
(Medscape) – Less than a decade ago, the use of wearable devices in Parkinson’s disease (PD) was considered futuristic. Today, there’s an array of innovative tools from commercial activity trackers to tremor suppression gloves and laser-guided walking sticks to help … Read More
November 26, 2024
(Wired) – Elon Musk’s brain implant company, Neuralink, announced on Tuesday that it is launching a study to test its implant for a new use: allowing a person to control a robotic arm using just their thoughts. “We’re excited to … Read More
