December 6, 2023
(Nature) – The approval of yet another RNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 might not seem momentous. But the endorsement last week by Japanese authorities of a jab against SARS-CoV-2 constructed using a form of RNA that can make copies of itself … Read More
December 6, 2023
(STAT News) – Trading her chances of having children naturally for a chance at freedom from a debilitating genetic disease was a difficult choice. But at least Tornyenu was presented with the option of preserving the possibility of having biological … Read More
December 6, 2023
(Wired) – More details are emerging about a data breach the genetic testing company 23andMe first reported in October. But as the company shares more information, the situation is becoming even murkier and creating greater uncertainty for users attempting to … Read More
December 5, 2023
(STAT News) – Given the widespread acceptance that the current flu vaccines could use improvement, are mRNA shots the answer? As the scientific world waits for published data on which to formulate conclusions, STAT spoke to influenza and vaccine experts … Read More
December 5, 2023
(The Verge) – DNA data storage might sound like a far-off solution. But a startup called Biomemory is bringing it a little closer to reality with the release of new DNA cards that anyone can purchase — if you have … Read More
December 5, 2023
(The Verge) – 23andMe confirmed that a recent breach leaked data belonging to 6.9 million users. In an emailed statement to The Verge, company spokesperson Andy Kill says the breach affected around 5.5 million users who had DNA Relatives enabled, … Read More
December 5, 2023
December 4, 2023
(New York Times) – Lesbian couples and single parents make up 70 percent of the people who now use sperm donors, according to a 2022 study of an assisted-reproduction clinic. Some of these families fear that disclosure laws will open … Read More
December 4, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – On a picturesque fall day a few years ago, I opened the mailbox and took out an envelope as thick as a Bible that would change my life. The package was from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and it … Read More
December 1, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – By the middle of December, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, based in Boston, is expected to receive FDA approval to sell a revolutionary new treatment for sickle-cell disease that’s the first to use CRISPR to alter the DNA inside … Read More
November 29, 2023
(Wired) – The US Food and Drug Administration says it is investigating cases in which some patients who received a type of cutting-edge cancer treatment later developed new cancers. Known as CAR-T cell therapy, the treatment involves removing certain immune … Read More
November 28, 2023
(The Atlantic) – The results are so astounding that this therapy, from Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics, became the first CRISPR medicine ever approved, with U.K. regulators giving the green light earlier this month; the FDA appears prepared to follow … Read More
November 27, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – At healthcare conferences, someone always asks, “What if there was a magic pill?” One that could cure major diseases. What would the healthcare industry look like? Some emergency rooms and hospitals but less doctors and spending? … Read More
November 23, 2023
November 21, 2023
(STAT News) – They have roots in 50 countries that cover more than half of the globe’s surface. They make up more than 60% of the world’s population. They speak more than 100 different languages. Yet in medical research and … Read More
November 20, 2023
November 17, 2023
(Wired) – The first medical treatment that uses Crispr gene editing was authorized Thursday by the United Kingdom. The one-time therapy, which will be sold under the brand name Casgevy, is for patients with sickle cell disease and a related … Read More
November 16, 2023
(CNN) – The United Kingdom has become the first country to give regulatory approval to a medical treatment involving the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing tool. The country’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said Thursday it had given a greenlight … Read More
November 15, 2023
(STAT News) – The class action suit, filed on behalf of deceased patients who had a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan and their families by the California-based Clarkson Law Firm, follows the publication of a STAT investigation Tuesday. The investigation, cited … Read More
November 15, 2023
November 13, 2023
(Nature) – The first trial in humans of the precise gene-editing technique known as base editing has shown promising results for keeping cholesterol levels in check. The approach injects into people a treatment called VERVE-101, which permanently deactivates a gene … Read More
November 13, 2023
(New York Times) – The handful of patients had severe heart disease that had caused chest pain and heart attacks. After trying available cholesterol-lowering medications, they could not get their cholesterol as low as cardiologists recommended. So they volunteered for … Read More
November 10, 2023
(Wired) – That goal is known as a universal influenza vaccine. For immunologists, it has been an end-of-the-rainbow phantasm for more than a decade, a deeply desired treasure that manages to stay just out of reach. Recently, though, the pursuit … Read More
November 2, 2023
November 1, 2023
