STAT
Switching to a new polio vaccine was supposed to be a step forward. Now some experts suggest going back
Three years ago, the leaders of the international campaign to eradicate polio pulled off a landmark feat, phasing out a problematic ...
AI and digital health devices: FDA’s new guidelines seek to ‘strike a delicate balance’ between safety and innovation
The Food and Drug Administration has issued new guidelines on how it will regulate mobile health software and products that ...
Researcher backtracks on study suggesting He Jiankui’s controversial CRISPR babies will have shorter lifespans
A scientific study published this past spring came with damning implications for Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who created the world’s first ...
Worried about genetic privacy? This start-up is offering anonymous DNA sequencing
The upstart direct-to-consumer DNA-testing company Nebula Genomics announced on [September 19] that it will offer anonymous genome sequencing, becoming the first to do ...
CRISPR could save the lives of sick children by tweaking the embryos of their siblings
[Tweaking an embryo’s DNA can] help save someone who is already alive. Take the case of Jessica and Keith, a ...
HPV vaccines are not just for women: Throat, mouth cancer rates rising for men
Earlier this year, the biotech community mourned the loss of Michael Becker, a former pharmaceutical industry executive. … Becker’s cancer was ...
Viewpoint: Study’s inability to find a ‘gay gene’ provides affirmation for LGBTQ community
As a scientist, I am fascinated by the new international study that found thousands of genetic variants associated with same-sex sexual behavior, ...
In the age of DNA, sperm donors can no longer expect promises of anonymity to stand up
For generations, it was a basic tenet of donating sperm: Clinics could forever protect their clients’ identities. But, increasingly, donor ...
FDA investigation: Traces of possible carcinogens found in common heartburn meds, including Zantac, raising pharmaceutical supply chain safety concerns
Regulators in the U.S. and Europe are investigating why traces of a possible carcinogen were found in certain heartburn drugs, ...
Meet biohacker Anastasia Synn, magician with 26 self-implanted microchips and magnets under her skin
[Anastasia] Synn has 26 microchips and magnets implanted throughout her body. Unlike many biohackers who experiment purely out of personal ...
Overreaction? Newly proposed definition of pain could withhold opioids from those who need them most
A new definition of pain is out for comment from the International Association for the Study of Pain, an influential ...
Viewpoint: Animal rights activists ‘reckless’ and ‘inhumane’ for pushing back against animal testing to find an AIDS vaccine
In July, researchers eliminated HIV from the genome of a mouse using antiviral therapy and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. It was the first ...
Gates Foundation awards $12 million to teams hunting for universal flu vaccine
Scientific teams from inside and outside the world of influenza research have been awarded funding to try to unlock mysteries ...
Pregnant women, teenagers warned to stay away from marijuana by surgeon general
The federal government on [August 29] issued an advisory warning against marijuana use in teenagers and pregnant women, cautioning that ...
Menopausal hormone therapy linked to breast cancer risk—even after patients stop taking drugs
A sweeping new analysis adds to the evidence that many women who take hormone therapy during menopause are more likely ...
‘All of Us’: NIH precision medicine study will share genetic data with participants, offer counseling
The nearly 200,000 Americans who have trusted federal scientists with their DNA, their medical records, and detailed behavioral surveys will ...
We can cure Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, glioblastoma in mice. Why not humans?
Lab mice endure a lot for science, but there’s often one (temporary) compensation: near-miraculous recovery from diseases that kill people ...
A third of cancer drug clinical trials don’t report on race. Here’s why that matters
One-third of the clinical trials that led to new cancer drugs approved between 2008 and 2018 didn’t report on the ...
DNA sequencing clinics catering to curious wealthy clients
Seizing on the surging popularity of at-home DNA testing kits, top academic medical institutions are opening clinics that promise to ...
Viewpoint: Our efforts to learn more about cannabis benefits, risks are hampered by federal research barriers
As cannabis researchers, we work in a field whose unknowns could positively or negatively affect the health of millions of ...
Viewpoint: FDA should expand drug safety test program to include new technologies, including ‘organs on a chip’
Every March, thousands of toxicologists from around the world gather for the Society of Toxicology’s annual meeting. Animal-based approaches once ...
We’re inching closer to a new vaccine for Lyme disease. But will the public accept it?
As the threat of Lyme disease grows and fears surrounding it spread faster than the ticks that carry the infection, ...
We’ve almost eradicated Polio. But recent measles outbreaks show us why the battle isn’t over.
[T]he polio campaign must push on across the finish line. Failure to do so could have dire consequences. ... For ...
Making a new generation of beauty products from viruses and bacteria
As scientists uncover more details about the skin microbiome, small startups and beauty giants alike are exploring how the trillions ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why we should cut back on cancer screening for the elderly
Although some of my patients are still working full time or traveling the world in their 70s and 80s, I ...
Viewpoint: I wish I learned about my breast cancer risk from a genetic counselor instead of 23andMe
I opened the email from 23andMe, saying a report was ready for me to read. That click changed my life ...
Rushing to revamp international gene-editing rules before ‘crazy people’ start opening embryo-editing clinics
The second-most shocking thing He Jiankui told the international genome editing summit in Hong Kong last November — right after ...
FDA mulling whether patients should have to pay to join clinical trials
Some [clinical trials] plan to ask participants to pay $7,000 or so to enroll. Another wanted to ask for upward ...
