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
November 25, 2024
(New York Times) – Labs around the world are trying to turn cells into autobiographers, tracking their own development from embryos to adults. Dr. Stadler’s lab and others around the world are trying to turn cells into their own historians, … Read More
November 22, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – Around 135 transplants have been performed, but it’s probably too soon to offer the procedure to trans women. A decade on, over 135 uterus transplants have been performed globally, resulting in the births of over 50 … Read More
November 20, 2024
(The Conversation) – Current treatment for T1D involves lifelong insulin injections. While effective, patients taking insulin risk developing low blood glucose levels, which can cause symptoms such as shakiness, irritability, hunger, confusion and dizziness. Severe cases can result in seizures … Read More
November 19, 2024
(Quartz) – Oura smart rings will soon be able to give users deeper insights about their blood sugar levels through a new partnership with Dexcom (DXCM), the maker of the U.S.’s first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor. The two companies on … Read More
November 14, 2024
(Gizmodo) – Doctors say that Richard Slayman’s body did not reject a pig kidney modified to become more compatible with human biology. A historic medical accomplishment that ended in tragedy may yet have a silver lining. Doctors say that Richard … Read More
November 14, 2024
(Axios) – Life sciences companies are quickly integrating artificial intelligence into their work, but guardrails for using the technology are lagging, according to a survey from law firm Arnold & Porter. The big picture: 75% of the 100 senior life … Read More
November 12, 2024
(Nature) – Through brain implants, neural interfaces and skin grafts, researchers are starting to restore sensation for paralysed or amputated limbs. Back in 1985, a car crash shattered three of Imbrie’s vertebrae and severed 70% of his spinal cord, leaving … Read More
November 8, 2024
(Nature) – Three people with severely impaired vision who received stem-cell transplants have experienced substantial improvements in their sight that have persisted for more than a year. A fourth person with severely impaired vision also experienced gains in their sight, … Read More
November 7, 2024
(Nature) – Scientists raise the alarm following updated research ethics guidelines on heritable human genome editing. Researchers have voiced concerns after South Africa updated its health-research ethics guidelines to include a new section on heritable (or germline) human genome editing. … Read More
