November 14, 2024
(Nature) – Deleting just two genes that control sugar production makes a more succulent fruit. Rotten tomatoes no more: growing sweeter tomatoes is possible by editing just two of the fruit’s genes. Deleting the genes increased the engineered fruits’ glucose … 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 13, 2024
(The Scientist) – Researchers used artificial intelligence in large genomics studies to fill in gaps in patient information and improve predictions, but new research uncovers false positives and misleading correlations. With AI-assisted GWAS [genome-wide association studies], Lu and his colleagues … Read More
November 13, 2024
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy (vol. 27, no. 4, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 12, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – DNA-testing company 23andMe said on Monday that it was firing roughly 40% of its workforce, more than 200 people, as Chief Executive Anne Wojcicki seeks to stabilize her money-losing business. As part of the restructuring, the … Read More
November 12, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Gaps in the United States’ genetic-nondiscrimination law mean that life, long-term-care, and disability insurers can obligate their customers to disclose genetic risk factors for disease and deny them coverage (or hike prices) based on the resulting information. … Read More
November 11, 2024
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 32, no. 10, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
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
November 7, 2024
(The Guardian) – Tumours could be reduced by targeting genetic material driving their growth with a new drug in early-stage trials Scientists have raised hopes of treating some of the most aggressive cases of cancer by targeting small fragments of … Read More
November 6, 2024
Journal of Medical Ethics (vol. 50, no. 11, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 4, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Lupus cannot be cured. No autoimmune disease can be cured. Two years ago, however, a study came out of Germany that rocked all of these assumptions. Five patients with uncontrolled lupus went into complete remission after undergoing … Read More
November 4, 2024
(Axios) – Almost 200 countries at a UN biodiversity conference in Colombia agreed on a system for distributing proceeds from products derived from genetic information into a global conservation fund. Why it matters: Countries are seeking fair compensation for their … Read More
October 31, 2024
(New York Times) – People who were restricted to limited amounts of sugar in the first few years of life were less likely to develop diabetes and high blood pressure decades later, a new study has found. The study, published … Read More
October 30, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – It turns out that you don’t need to be a scientist to encode data in DNA. Researchers have been working on DNA-based data storage for decades, but a new template-based method inspired by our cells’ chemical … Read More
October 24, 2024
(Wired) – The web’s biggest AI-powered search engines are featuring the widely debunked idea that white people are genetically superior to other races. AI-infused search engines from Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity have been surfacing deeply racist and widely debunked research … Read More
October 23, 2024
(The Guardian) – There is broad scientific consensus that intelligence is partly inherited and that genes play a significant role. But pinning this incredibly complex trait down to precise contributions from specific genes is a far more thorny scientific challenge … Read More
October 23, 2024
(Nature) – ‘Bricks’ of DNA, some of which have chemical tags, could one day be an alternative to storing information electronically. An innovative method now allows DNA to store information as a binary code — the same strings of 0s … Read More
October 22, 2024
(New York Times) – After 44 days, Kendric Cromer, 12, left the hospital. While his family feels fortunate that he was the first to receive a treatment, their difficult experiences hint at what others will be up against. Kendric Cromer, … Read More
October 18, 2024
(The Guardian) – Heliospect’s services were marketed at up to $50,000 for 100 embryos, undercover footage shows A US startup company is offering to help wealthy couples screen their embryos for IQ using controversial technology that raises questions about the … Read More
October 16, 2024
(Axios) – GlaxoSmithKline is suing Moderna for allegedly using technology patented by GSK in its COVID-19 vaccine. Why it matters: It’s the latest in a series of legal fights over who owns the intellectual property behind mRNA technology and whether … Read More
October 14, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – Deleting your data from 23andMe is permanent and cannot be reversed. But some of that data will be retained to comply with the company’s legal obligations, according to its privacy statement. That means 23andMe and its … Read More
October 10, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Vaccines designed to prevent cancer for high-risk groups are in early human trials Researchers are making progress toward vaccines that train healthy people’s immune systems to eliminate signs of cancer before it develops. Vaccines are in … Read More
October 7, 2024
(CNN) – The 2024 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to US scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their work on the discovery of microRNA, a molecule that governs how cells in the body function. Their … Read More
October 4, 2024
(Nature) – The treatment’s success in three people raises hopes for mass production of cutting-edge CAR T therapies. One woman and two men with severe autoimmune conditions have gone into remission after being treated with bioengineered and CRISPR-modified immune cells. … Read More
