October 31, 2023
(New York Times) – A panel of experts said on Tuesday that a groundbreaking treatment for sickle cell disease was safe enough for clinical use, setting the stage for likely federal approval by Dec. 8 of a powerful potential cure … Read More
October 30, 2023
(Undark) – The companies commercializing these techniques have largely escaped regulatory scrutiny, despite doubts about the health benefits their analyses can provide and worries about the risks they could pose to customers, health care systems, and society at large. The … Read More
October 30, 2023
(MedPage Today) – Whether the investigational sickle cell disease therapy exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) has adequately proven that it won’t produce off-target genetic changes was questioned by FDA reviewers ahead of an advisory committee meeting. The gene-editing CRISPR technology underpinning exa-cel … Read More
October 27, 2023
(The Conversation) – On Oct. 6, news broke that 23andMe, the genomics company that collects genetic material from thousands of people for ancestry and genetic predisposition tests, had a massive data breach. But as it turns out, the company’s servers … Read More
October 27, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – Yiyi is one of several deaf children who scientists in China say are the first people ever to have their natural hearing pathway restored in a dramatic new demonstration of the possibilities of gene therapy. The … Read More
October 25, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – The gene-editing technology CRISPR has been used to change the genes of human babies, to modify animals, and to treat people with sickle-cell disease. Now scientists are attempting a new trick: using CRISPR to permanently cure … Read More
October 20, 2023
(Wired) – Two companies have launched clinical trials to see if they can restore hearing to children with a rare type of genetic deafness. Akouos and Decibel Therapeutics, both based in Boston, are testing experimental therapies in children with severe … Read More
October 19, 2023
(Tech Crunch) – The same hacker who leaked a trove of user data stolen from the genetic testing company 23andMe two weeks ago has now leaked millions of new user records. On Tuesday, a hacker who goes by Golem published … Read More
October 19, 2023
(The Economist) – Volunteer number one rolled up his sleeve on July 12th last year. Volunteer two put out an arm to give blood the same day. Volunteer 100 stepped onto the scales on August 3rd. A tape measure was … Read More
October 18, 2023
(Science) – An industry-academic initiative announced today aims to create the largest ever database of genomes exclusively from people with African ancestry. Four biopharma companies contributing $80 million have teamed up with Meharry Medical College to launch the effort, which … Read More
October 12, 2023
(Wired) – Around the world, there aren’t enough donor kidneys available for everyone who needs one. Scientists are hoping pig kidneys could help ease the shortage, but first they must make sure the organs can keep working after transplant. In … Read More
October 12, 2023
(Ars Technica) – A world-first trial of a gene therapy to cure a form of deafness has begun, potentially heralding a revolution in the treatment of hearing loss. Up to 18 children from the UK, Spain, and the US are … Read More
October 9, 2023
(Wired) – The genetic testing company 23andMe confirmed on Friday that data from a subset of its users has been compromised. The company said its systems were not breached and that attackers gathered the data by guessing the login credentials … Read More
October 9, 2023
(Ars Technica) – Genetic profiling service 23andMe has commenced an investigation after private user data was scraped off its website. Friday’s confirmation comes five days after an unknown entity took to an online crime forum to advertise the sale of … Read More
October 6, 2023
(Nature) – It was one of gene therapy’s greatest successes — and greatest disappointments. Strimvelis is a potent treatment for a devastating genetic disorder of the immune system and one of the first gene therapies to be approved in Europe. … Read More
October 6, 2023
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 31, no. 8, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Approaching Discussions about Genetics with Palliative Patients and their Families: A Qualitative Exploration with Genetic Health Professionals” by Stephanie White, et al. … Read More
October 5, 2023
(Washington Post via MSN) – Using a host of high-tech tools to simulate brain development in a lab dish, Stanford University researchers have discovered several dozen genes that interfere with crucial steps in the process and may lead to autism, … Read More
October 4, 2023
(Nature) – RNA’s fleeting nature isn’t a big problem for a vaccine: it needs to encode proteins only for a short time to trigger an immune response. But for most therapeutic applications, it would be much better to have RNA … Read More
October 3, 2023
(TED) – You’ve probably heard of CRISPR, the revolutionary technology that allows us to edit the DNA in living organisms. Biochemist and 2023 Audacious Project grantee Jennifer Doudna earned the Nobel Prize for her groundbreaking work in this field — … Read More
October 2, 2023
(Associated Press) – Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic — technology that’s also being studied to fight cancer … Read More
September 29, 2023
(New York Times) – Their idea is to release a small colony of genetically modified mosquitoes, just the way they did with the green-dusted ones, to mate with wild ones. The gene engineering technology they are using could, in just … Read More
September 29, 2023
(Wired) – Earlier this month, state police in Connecticut held a “DNA drive” in an effort to help identify human remains found in the state. Family members of missing people were invited to submit DNA samples to a government repository … Read More
September 27, 2023
(STAT News) – Last October, a 27-year-old man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy died after receiving a CRISPR-based treatment custom built to treat his particular genetic mutation. Results of a detailed investigation released on Wednesday suggest that the patient, Terry Horgan, … Read More
September 27, 2023
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 31, no. 7, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Underrepresentation of racial and ethnic Minorities in Cascade Testing for Hereditary Cancer Syndromes” by Muhammad Danyal Ahsan, et al. “The Genetic Landscape … Read More
September 26, 2023
(Nature) – When Wilmut and his colleagues embarked on their project to clone the first mammal from an adult cell, one goal was to use the technique to generate livestock that would produce pharmaceuticals in their milk. The researchers hoped … Read More
