July 9, 2024
(Undark) – One person’s DNA became the centerpiece of a genetic sequence used by biologists the world over. Did he agree to that? To piece the story together, Undark reviewed more than 100 emails, letters, and other digital documents housed … Read More
July 9, 2024
(GEN) – Porteus is a scientific co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics, the company that launched the exa-cel CRISPR trial that culminated in the approval of Casgevy in December 2023. With the latest companies he has co-founded—first Graphite Bio, now Kamau Therapeutics— … Read More
July 4, 2024
(New York Times) – Researchers at the University of Tokyo published findings on a method of attaching artificial skin to robot faces to protect machinery and mimic human expressiveness. Engineers in Japan are trying to get robots to imitate that … Read More
July 4, 2024
(Nature) – The United Kingdom has developed its first rules to guide research using human embryo models. Scientists say they are pleased the country has clarified its position on the fast-moving field. The voluntary code of practice, published today, prohibits … Read More
July 1, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – When someone loses part of a leg, a prosthetic can make it easier to get around. But most prosthetics are static, cumbersome, and hard to move. A new neural interface connects a bionic limb to nerve … Read More
June 20, 2024
(New York Times) – In high-tech labs, workers are generating data to train A.I. algorithms to design better medicine, faster. But the transformation is just getting underway. The lab, about two-thirds the size of a football field, is a data … Read More
June 17, 2024
(The New Yorker) – At the time, Santos was at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Paris, studying genes that allow some bacteria to live longer than others. But after her grandfather’s death she decided to focus instead on new ways … Read More
June 14, 2024
(Ars Technica) – On Thursday, a US-based research team said that they’ve done gene editing experiments that targeted a high-profile genetic disease: cystic fibrosis. Their technique largely targets the tissue most affected by the disease (the lung), and occurs in the … Read More
June 13, 2024
(NPR) – A flexible film bristling with tiny sensors could make surgery safer for patients with a brain tumor or severe epilepsy. The experimental film, which looks like Saran wrap, rests on the brain’s surface and detects the electrical activity … Read More
June 11, 2024
(Reuters) – Olympians including Dutch marathon runner Abdi Nageeye are using a new tool they hope will boost their medal chances this summer: tiny monitors that attach to the skin to track blood glucose levels. Continuous glucose monitors or CGMs … Read More
June 11, 2024
(The Verge) – Abbott announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has cleared two new over-the-counter continuous glucose monitors (CGM). The Lingo is designed for health-conscious consumers who want to get greater insight into their metabolism. Meanwhile, the … Read More
June 10, 2024
(The Telegraph via Yahoo! News) – A brain-zapping treatment for binge-eaters that can be carried out at home has helped people lose more than half a stone in just six weeks. The technique, called transcranial direct current stimulation, fires a … Read More
May 29, 2024
(Ars Technica) – Brain-computer interface company Precision Neuroscience says that it has set a new world record for the number of neuron-tapping electrodes placed on a living human’s brain—4,096, surpassing the previous record of 2,048 set last year, according to … Read More
May 23, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – We can report that BrainBridge is not a real company—it’s not incorporated anywhere. The video was made by Hashem Al-Ghaili, a Yemeni science communicator and film director who made a viral video in 2022 called “EctoLife” … Read More
May 22, 2024
(Wired) – The experimental device has given Arbaugh, now 30, a sense of independence. Before, using a mouth-stick required someone to position him upright. If he dropped his mouth-stick, it needed to be picked up for him. And he couldn’t … Read More
May 21, 2024
(Ars Technica) – One of those clinical trials, based at the University of California, San Francisco, has now inadvertently revealed something about how the brain handles language, because one of the patients enrolled in the trial was bilingual, using English … Read More
May 20, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – Reid received the device, called ARCex, as part of a 60-person clinical trial. She and the other participants completed two months of physical therapy, followed by two months of physical therapy combined with stimulation. The results, … Read More
May 20, 2024
(Nature) – For more than a decade, researchers have been trying to see whether they can selectively destroy these cells with a variety of drugs. In a pivotal study published in 2015, a team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, … Read More
May 15, 2024
(Axios) – Lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Wednesday are expected to set in motion a massive reordering of how U.S. pharmaceuticals are developed and made, by advancing a contracting ban on five key Chinese research firms. Why it … Read More
May 15, 2024
(Reuters) – Neuralink’s disclosure last week that tiny wires inside the brain of its first patient had pulled out of position is an issue the Elon Musk company has known about for years, according to five people familiar with the … Read More
May 13, 2024
(Associated Press) – The first recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died nearly two months after he underwent the procedure, his family and the hospital that performed the surgery said Saturday. Richard “Rick” Slayman had the transplant … Read More
May 10, 2024
(Nature) – After more than four years of deliberations, US officials have released a policy that outlines how federal funding agencies and research institutions must review and oversee biological experiments that could potentially be misused or spark a pandemic. The … Read More
May 9, 2024
(New York Times) – Artificial intelligence is giving machines the power to generate videos, write computer code and even carry on a conversation. It is also accelerating efforts to understand the human body and fight disease. On Wednesday, Google DeepMind, … Read More
May 9, 2024
(Axios) – Biosecurity experts say AI-driven “biosurveillance” could help spot the next pandemic or biological attack. The big picture: An initial surge of concern over the threat from AI-generated superbugs and bioweapons has begun to ebb as AI’s advantages in … Read More
May 8, 2024
(Wired) – The White House has issued new rules aimed at companies that manufacture synthetic DNA after years of warnings that a pathogen made with mail-order genetic material could accidentally or intentionally spark the next pandemic. The rules, released on … Read More
