MIT Technology Review
Improving human sperm with gene editing? Harvard researcher moves forward as scientists debate CRISPR babies
In the wild uproar around an experiment in China that created twin girls whose genes were altered to protect them ...
Chinese researcher’s claims of gene-edited babies prompts investigation
A Chinese researcher who claims to have created the first gene-edited babies, He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and ...
One scientist’s quest for an anti-aging drug
Judith Campisi has been a leading figure in the biology of aging since the early 1990s, when her research on ...
Inside a couple’s quest to pay for an experimental gene therapy to save their children
“We need your help, we really do,” Gary [Landsman] says, his voice breaking. The Landsmans’ two sons—Benny, then 18 months, ...
Designer babies are already here—and why we should be worried
Matthew assumed the weakness in his knee was the sort of orthopedic nuisance that happens when you turn 30. … ...
Geneticist Carlos Bustamante’s effort to make DNA databases less white
In the 15 years since the Human Genome Project first exposed our DNA blueprint, vast amounts of genetic data have ...
Optical illusions and why neural networks can’t seem to figure them out
[Optical illusions] are interesting because they provide insight into the nature of the visual system and perception. So ways of ...
Why it’s critical for AI to be given a good dose of common sense
Wherever artificial intelligence is deployed, you will find it has failed in some amusing way. Take the strange errors made by translation algorithms ...
Storing movies on DNA pellets? School-bus-sized gene storage machine may help pave the way
In a world awash with data, DNA is a hugely compact way to store it. The data on every iPhone, PC, ...
Monitoring blood pressure with a wearable ‘stick-on patch’
The last time you had your blood pressure checked, it was probably at a doctor’s office with a bulky cuff ...
Why is former basketball player Shawn Bradley so tall? His DNA could offer the answer
As a first-round draft pick from Brigham Young University, Shawn Bradley caused a hubbub during the 1993 NBA draft. That ...
Large drug trials are expensive and results often misleading. A new genetic tool might cure those problems.
[C]orrelation is not causation. The fact that two phenomena or trends are correlated in time does not mean one causes ...
CRISPR treatment for dogs with muscular dystrophy could one day lead to a cure for humans
Dogs suffering from muscular dystrophy are having their genomes edited with CRISPR, and the results are “mind-blowing.” Researchers from Texas ...
Can artificial intelligence point out employee weaknesses, training needs?
Here’s the conundrum with corporate online learning: there are so many classes available from sites like Coursera, edX, and Udacity that companies ...
Rekindling the debate over using CRISPR to edit human embryos
Facing criticism from fellow scientists, the researcher behind the world’s largest effort to edit human embryos with CRISPR is vowing ...
Can genes predict our chances of educational success?
The largest-ever genetic study on human cognition has found more than 1,000 links between people’s genes and how far they ...
Scientist chases cure for her rare brain disorder using ‘clear genetic blueprint’
In 2011, Sonia Vallabh was handed a genetic report that contained a death sentence. But it also held a map ...
One researcher’s unorthodox approach to understanding memory
Mostafa “Neo” Mohsenvand often walks around with a fisheye lens on a smartphone strapped to his chest and a black, ...
Could printable lungs solve transplant shortage?
[Recently] I had the chance to hold a replica of the upper part of a human airway—the windpipe plus the ...
Want to be a cyborg? Here are 5 steps you can take
We’ve put together a list to introduce you to some of the most interesting products that can help you upgrade ...
What do we have to fear from synthetic bioweapons?
A study ordered by the US Department of Defense has concluded that new genetic-engineering tools are expanding the range of malicious ...
‘Turbocharged’ artificial synapses could make artificial intelligence 100 times more efficient
Neural networks are the crown jewel of the AI boom. They gorge on data and do things like transcribe speech ...
Expanded genetic testing of newborns could help us get the most out of new gene therapies
The company behind [spinal muscular atrophy drug] AveXis, is seeing the most dramatic results in children who are treated in ...
Will this ‘germ game’ help us prepare for a terror attack using a bioengineered virus?
In June 2001, a group of government officials and journalists play-acted their way through a “germ game,” a fictional scenario ...
This journalist lost a bet, and now he has to put his DNA results on the internet
It all started after the arrest of the alleged Golden State Killer in April. Police had uploaded crime-scene DNA to ...
Can we reverse aging in dogs through gene therapy? If so, humans could be next.
The world’s most influential synthetic biologist is behind a new company that plans to rejuvenate dogs using gene therapy. If ...
Once-promising field of advanced biofuels is in ‘shambles’—can it be revived?
[Jay Keasling, a synthetic biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and chief executive of the Joint BioEnergy Institute] did ...
No words needed: AlterEgo prototype allows communication with computer as if by thought
Controlling your gadgets by talking to them is so 2018. In the future, you won’t even have to move your ...
