Michael Le Page
How CRISPR gene drives could help eliminate pesticide-resistant ‘superweeds’
A gene drive – a bit of DNA that cheats evolution and can spread even if harmful – has been ...
1 in 3 children at risk: Lead exposure in childhood linked to committing crimes as adults, correlation study claims
Higher exposure to lead in childhood is associated with a greater likelihood of criminality, a review of 17 studies has ...
mRNA technology revolution: Battling sickle cell, aging and other tough-to-tackle diseases will soon be easier and cheaper
A technique for delivering mRNAs to blood stem cells should enable better and cheaper treatments for conditions from sickle cell ...
Purple tomatoes? Superfood genetically engineered tomato rich in antioxidants nearing United States rollout
The purple tomato was created by Cathie Martin at the John Innes Centre in the UK. In 2008, her team reported that ...
Food from thin air? Transforming carbon emissions into protein could clean up pollution and reduce land needed to feed billions of people
Around the world, forests are being cut down to grow protein-rich soya to feed to animals. Using solar power to ...
CRISPR provides ‘functional cure’ for patients with beta thalassemia, sickle cell disease, preliminary study shows
Result of this ongoing trial, which is the first to use CRISPR to treat inherited genetic disorders, were announced [June ...
CRISPR immunizes chickens against deadly virus, potentially boosting global egg and meat production
CRISPR genome editing has been used to make chickens resistant to a common virus. The approach could boost egg and ...
If Britain and Wales went 100% organic, crop yields would crash by half and carbon emissions would double, UK study shows
Greenhouse gas emissions would go up if all farms in England and Wales went organic. Though the emissions of individual ...
CRISPR used to fight virus hiding inside banana genome
Genome editing has been used to destroy a virus that lurks inside many of the bananas grown in Africa. Other ...
Gene-edited crops declared GMOs in EU court ruling
Organisms created by methods that alter the DNA, including CRISPR gene editing, should be subject to the same EU laws as ...
Would switching to 100% organic farming help the environment? ‘Absolutely not’
Should the world’s farms go 100 percent organic to protect the environment? Absolutely not. One huge problem is that organic ...
World Anti-Doping Agency says ‘no’ to gene editing in sports competitions
The battle between sports cheats and testers is poised to enter a whole new arena. The World Anti-Doping Agency has ...
Glyphosate herbicide ban won’t save anyone from cancer, will harm environment
The widely used weedkiller glyphosate is available in every garden store, but now there are fears it can cause cancer ...
CRISPR shows promise against a ‘range of disorders’ in animal studies
The race is on to edit the DNA in our body to fight or prevent disease. Promising results from animal ...
CRISPR gene-edited wheat safe for celiac sufferers on horizon
People forced to avoid gluten could soon have their bread (and cake) and eat it. Now there are strains of wheat that ...
Junk collecting: As little as 8 percent of our DNA may have functional impact
The code that makes us is at least 75 percent rubbish, according to a study that suggests most of our ...
Controversial CRISPR-causes-unwanted-mutations study possibly tainted by use of closely-related mice
In May 2017, a study claimed that the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing technique can cause thousands of unwanted and potentially ...
It’s getting hot in here: Your cells reach 122 Fahrenheit when making energy
Our body temperature might not ever get much hotter than 37°C [98.6°F]. But it turns out that the insides of ...
Chinese scientists repair viable human embryos with CRISPR for first time
A team in China has corrected genetic mutations in at least some of the cells in three normal human embryos ...
Cholesterol and heart disease risk could be lowered with a single injection
A one-off injection could one day lower your cholesterol levels for the rest of your life. People born with natural ...
Two baby girls with leukemia ‘cured’ using gene-editing therapy
Two children treated with gene-edited cells to kill their cancers are both doing well more than a year later. The ...
CRISPR gene editing human trials in China and US offer hope for countless lives
In 2015, a little girl called Layla was treated with gene-edited immune cells that eliminated all signs of the leukemia ...
Want to save the planet from environmental disaster? Stop buying organic food.
[F]arming is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, only slightly behind heating and electricity. ... The one ...
Do GMOs boost yields? ‘Superwheat’ set for field trials boosts harvests by 20%
Genetically modified crops could help us grow more food on less land in a world struggling to cope with climate ...
Scientists creating genetically engineered synthetic supermicrobe
It’s not finished yet. But if it is, it will be the greatest feat of genetic engineering by far. A ...
Potential benefits of human-animal chimeras vastly outweigh risks
If we had a cheap and unlimited supply of healthy organs for transplant, it wouldn’t just transform the lives of ...
Gene doping could actually make Olympics fairer
There have yet to be any confirmed cases of athletes genetically enhancing their bodies. But this could be because none ...
FDA: GMO mosquito has no negative impacts, opening door to November Key West vote on Zika eradication trial
On 5 August, the US Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for a planned trial in a small part of ...
