Human Gene Editing
Biotechnology giant: Does China now lead the world in human and agricultural genetic engineering?
For many people, when they hear China and genetic engineering in the same sentence, it is often synonymous with scandal, ...
Making a new person from skin or blood cells — but no egg and sperm?’ Scientists debate ethics of ‘synthetic human reproduction’
Called in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, it promises to someday provide a cure for many types of infertility ...
Editing out diseases in the womb is a holy grail on the horizon — but protecting embryos from unwanted damage is proving a challenging hurdle
Scientists have discovered that the cells of early human embryos are often unable to repair damage to their DNA ...
Viewpoint: ‘The true promise of gene-editing isn’t in pitless cherries or vitamin fortified-foods but in the vast potential for treatment and cures of human disease’
While it can be used to modify food, its greatest impact may be in eliminating the mutated genes responsible for ...
Russia banned GMOs years ago to distinguish itself from the United States. What’s its current stance toward genetic engineering, CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques?
Russia's decision to ban importation and cultivation of GMOs made sense from a political perspective. But it's a decision the ...
‘The horizon of new possibility is blindingly bright’: Boom in genetic medical breakthroughs could extend for years, says CRISPR co-creator Jennifer Doudna
We may be on the cusp of an era of astonishing innovation — the limits of which aren’t even clear ...
The enemy of my enemy is my friend: How plants recruit predators to control pests
Plants may seem defenseless against insects, having neither hands nor tail to brush them away. But many produce potent repellent chemicals, ...
‘One-and-done’ CRISPR gene therapy treatment could be lifetime cure for high cholesterol — but the FDA remains cautious
CRISPR sometimes edits genes in places it’s not supposed to, though, and those off-target edits can create new problems ...
How gene therapy could eventually snip out diseases in the womb
Recent advances in lab animals may bring medicine closer to achieving it—but this field is still in its infancy ...
Viewpoint: BMJ editorial on ethical quandaries stirred by human gene editing — ‘Adopting a purely scientific view risks ignoring ethical, societal, and equity considerations’
Adopting a purely scientific view of human genome editing risks ignoring ethical, societal, and equity considerations ...
Here’s how CRISPR gene editing is already revolutionizing medicine
A number of genetic disorders are caused by a mutation in a single gene. The power (and precision) of CRISPR ...
Fear of unintended consequences slows adoption of embryo gene editing
As gene-editing technology advances, we take a look at how debate about its application has evolved in recent years, and ...
Human Genome Project was completed 20 years ago. Here’s how it has revolutionized science
For the 20-year anniversary of this historic event, we took a look back at the Human Genome Project and its impact ...
Pivotal year for gene therapy: Slew of CRISPR treatments will hit the market in 2023
Currently, there are no gene editing–based treatments on the market, but the technology continues its march toward potential FDA approval, ...
Making human eggs from scratch: Scientists are trying to replicate this complex chemical recipe
Gameto, a biotech startup, has developed a product called Fertilo that it hopes can improve the odds of success in ...
Audio: Jennifer Doudna on how diseases can be permanently cured using CRISPR gene editing, reshaping the arc of evolution
In 2011, biochemist Jennifer Doudna helped discover the genetic editing tool CRISPR. Today CRISPR is actively deployed in clinical trials ...
98% of the human genome: We are finally beginning to understand the mystery of ‘dark matter’ junk DNA
Twenty years ago, an enormous scientific effort revealed that the human genome contains 20,000 protein-coding genes ...
Why did Ellie in the Last of Us not succumb to Cordy, the zombie virus? Stem cells might explain it, and that could yield real-life vaccines
It’s unsettling to watch The Last of Us, in which parasitic fungi turn humanity into flesh-eating zombies, just as the ...
Could CRISPR be replaced by an AI-powered gene editing tool?
A new study has developed what the researchers call the "world's first" simple, modifiable proteins. Called "zinc fingers," these special ...
Ethical issues aside, CRISPR babies are too risky
While society grapples with the social and ethical implications of heritable genome editing, technical obstacles still abound ...
CRISPR cats and dogs? Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raises alarm that pets could be ‘created’ with extreme features under new UK gene editing law
Pets could be gene-edited under new English law, says RSPCA: Act opens door to technology being used to create cats ...
‘Supercells have changed my life’: The $3 million sickle cell disease CRISPR cure
The case of American Victoria Gray shows the hope of new CRISPR therapies, but also their problems: they will cost ...
Treating epilepsy with a keto diet? Sounds far-fetched, but it can work
The ketogenic diet is an extremely low-carb diet that consists of almost no carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein and ...
Epigenetics: How environment impacts health of you, your child — and possibly their children as well
Why you need to know about epigenetics: A lesser-known genetic code influences your health—and that of your kids and grandkids ...
Gene editing medicine is accelerating: More than 200 people worldwide have been treated with experimental CRISPR therapies
More than 200 people have been treated with experimental CRISPR therapies. But at a global genome-editing summit, exciting trial results ...
CRISPR gene editing has shown it can cure sickle cell anemia — raising questions about who can access this life-changing treatment
At age 37, free of symptoms, able to be a mom and work a full-time job, sickle cell patient and ...
‘Three-parent baby’ mitochondrial replacement therapy was developed to prevent fatal illnesses — but the the technique might not work as expected
Mitochondria are little “energy factories” that float around in the cytoplasm of our cells. While most of our DNA is ...
