STAT
CRISPR’s high costs may limit development of gene therapy drugs
The ruckus over the CRISPR gene-editing system hides a dark reality: its high cost may make it unaffordable and questions ...
Smarter children tend to live longer: Is there a genetic connection?
Across a sweeping range of causes of death — from injuries to dementia to heart disease — being smarter as ...
Despite what you’ve heard, human genome is not completely sequenced
The feat made headlines around the world: “Scientists Say Human Genome is Complete,” the New York Times announced in 2003...There ...
How our gut bacteria may have influenced evolution
[Editor's note: Susan Erdman is a research scientist and assistant director of MIT’s Division of Comparative Medicine.] Lately I’ve been wondering ...
Even moderate drinking may damage your brain and memory function
While it’s widely accepted that drinking too much is bad for you, conventional wisdom...says that alcohol can be consumed in ...
Back to life: Can controversial stem cell treatment revive brain-dead patients?
For any given medical problem, it seems, there’s a research team trying to use stem cells to find a solution...But ...
Harvard’s George Church is revolutionizing evolution
Harvard biologist George Church burst into the headlines (yet again) [recently] when he helped organize a closed-door meeting of scores of ...
More women suffer from Alzheimer’s and shoulder caregiving
Women make up nearly two-thirds of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease. A woman in her 60's is ...
Is it possible that cashew nuts could be as effective as chemotherapy in battling cancer?
Surprising new research scheduled to be unveiled at a major cancer meeting next month suggests that cashews and other tree ...
Asthma breakthrough? ‘Blockbuster’ Gleevec cancer drug shows promise in treating severe cases
A blockbuster cancer drug may have a surprising new use: It’s showing real promise in treating severe asthma. That may ...
Diagnostic puzzle: After four years, geneticist unravels mystery illness in four hours
During his first years of life, the boy saw a laundry list of specialists. He suffered from heartburn and his ...
WHO arranging to send experimental Ebola vaccine to Democratic Republic of Congo
The World Health Organization and outside experts are making arrangements to send an experimental Ebola vaccine to the Democratic Republic ...
Is the Broad Institute exploiting its nonprofit status to corner CRISPR business?
When a federal patent court ruled that the nonprofit Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard could legally license its version ...
How to treat a crying baby? Brain waves offers window
Could a baby’s cry mean an anesthetic isn’t working well during a procedure? That a painkiller for postoperative pain has worn ...
Superbug antibiotic backlash? Let’s review the science
Don’t call it a war on superbugs. That’s the latest advice from international public health experts who have been watching ...
Designer pigs could save thousands of lives in China, which lacks an ‘organ-donation culture’
Where other people see bacon, biologist Luhan Yang sees lifesaving organs — hundreds and thousands of them...[Yang] intends to use ...
Why government-recommended PSA screening for prostate cancer may be bad advice
PSA screening [for prostate cancer] remains a difficult decision for healthy men and their doctors [even after the latest recommendation upgrade] ...
At what age should you get screened for prostate cancer?
The last time the US Preventive Services Task Force weighed in on prostate cancer screening via blood tests, in 2012, ...
Pure bad luck? Two-thirds of cancer mutations may come from random DNA errors
[In the past, a controversial claim was made that] “bad luck,” more than environmental factors or inherited genes, affects whether someone develops ...
Fighting malaria: West African village could be world’s first release of gene-drive mosquito — if residents allow it
This small village of [Bana] in West Africa might seem the least likely place for an experiment at the frontier ...
Participate or pay: Legislation would allow US employers to require genetic testing of workers
A little-noticed bill moving through Congress would allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing or risk paying a penalty ...
Will cancer patients reap benefits of ‘breakthroughs’ in immunotherapy?
Cancer drugs are all too often hailed as miracles, breakthroughs, game-changers, or even cures, even when they are no such ...
Too much good news? Media coverage of biomedicine overly optimistic, study says
It often feels as though today’s health headlines are some scientific version of Mad Libs. And now there’s a study ...
Genetics lab payed doctors up to $144,000 annually to push unnecessary tests, employees claim
For doctors, the brochure from a California medical laboratory sounded like easy money: $30 for every person enrolled in a ...
Loud noises kill cells vital for hearing, but gut stem cells may help regrow them
Humans are born with around 15,000 hair cells — think tiny, sound-sensing fibers — in each ear. The cells can’t ...
From rough sketches to virtual reality: How scientists study, learn about developing embryos
Armed with a wand and funky spectacles, Beatrice Steinert steps into a world of lush green mounds and bright blue ...
Cancer patients can learn ‘good and bad news’ by sequencing their disease genome
Advances in genomics and molecular biology have revealed that cancer is surprisingly, shockingly diverse...Each one can be defined by a ...
Should deaths in clinical trials deter experimental cancer treatment ‘CAR-T therapy’?
Editor's note: The author of this piece is Julie Guillot a fundraiser and advocate for the Children’s Oncology Group and other ...
