NEWS and OPINIONS
The Quest for Large-Scale DNA
By MaryAnn Labant - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - As genome editing therapies move through clinical trials to regulatory approval, scientists continue the quest for the holy grail of large-scale DNA editing Although genome editing was not a new concept,...
First Huntington’s Disease Patient Dosed with Neural Stem Cell Therapy
By Inside Precision Medicine - REGEN4HD, a Phase Ib/IIa from UCI Health, aims to slow disease progression, protect brain cells, and possibly repair neural circuit Huntington’s disease therapeutics have reached a historic milestone—the first patient has successfully...
How the brain decides where to insulate its own wiring
By Kermit Pattison - The FAS Current - Harvard biologists reveal how brain cells guide myelin to specific locations In the complex circuitry of the brain, a fatty substance known as myelin plays a vital role in insulating neural wiring. It coats billions of axons in...
Inflammation Forces Brain Stem Cells to Halt Neurogenesis
By Neuroscience News - A new study demonstrated that introducing inflammatory signaling molecules directly into human hippocampal stem cells brings new neuron production to a dead stop. Instead of simply dying or becoming damaged, the brain’s neural stem cells...
China approved the world’s first solid tumor CAR-T therapy. When will the US follow?
By Darren Incorvaia - Fierce Biotech - CAR-T cell therapy has flourished since its first use in 2010, leading to seven approved medicines for various blood cancers. But adapting the powerful technique, which involves engineering a patient’s own T cells to fight...
Takeda, Insilico Strike AI Drug-Discovery Deal Worth Up to $600 Million
By Jason Chau - Wall Street Journal - Japanese pharmaceutical major Takeda is forging an AI drug-discovery partnership with biotech firm Insilico Medicine with a potential initial value of $600.0 million. Under the partnership announced Thursday, Takeda will pay...
Newly discovered genetic weakness may help target deadly small cell neuroendocrine cancers
By UCLA Health - UCLA researchers have uncovered a hidden weakness in some of the deadliest cancers, revealing a potential new strategy for targeting tumors that have long resisted treatment. Small cell neuroendocrine cancers, aggressive tumors that can arise in the...
3D-printed tooth implant restores natural sensation
by Clara Rodriguez Fernandez - Advanced Science News - While we may not notice it in daily life, we rely on sensory feedback from our teeth not only to enjoy the texture of food but also to chew it with the right amount of force. With conventional implants, sensation...
Cell and gene therapy’s next challenge is not the science, it’s everything else
by Andrea Corona - Drug Discovery and Development - The field's foundational biology is no longer the limiting factor. What comes next depends on whether the industry can build the manufacturing, commercial, and clinical infrastructure to match what the science...