NEWS and OPINIONS
The Gene Fixer – For five decades, Stuart Orkin has harnessed new genetic tools
By Elizabeth Dougherty - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - In the early 1970s, the field of genetics was confined to the study of bacteria and viruses. Conventional wisdom at the time was that the tools of molecular biology couldn't be used to study human diseases. Human...
Henrietta Lacks’ Family Gets Undisclosed Settlement In “Immortal Cells” Case
by James Felton - IFLScience - Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks, which alleged that the company unfairly profited from her "immortal" cell line, taken without her knowledge or consent in 1951 and still widely...
Stem cells provide a potent treatment for frailty
By Edward Chen - Nature - Elderly people with frailty, which affects up to one-quarter of over-50s, increased their endurance after a single dose of stem cells. A single dose of stem cells can help older people with frailty to build up their endurance, a study finds1....
Cracking a ‘holy grail’ challenge in cancer cell therapy
By Karen Guzman - Yale News - Yale scientists have engineered natural killer cells that eliminate solid tumors in mouse models. The study may lead to a simpler, “off the shelf” immunotherapy for hard-to-treat cancers. Since scientists first discovered that human...
New Bio-Implant for Spinal Cord Repair
By Neuroscience News.com - Spinal cord injuries have long been considered permanent because neurons in the central nervous system lack the natural ability to regrow. However, researchershave developed a novel, 3D-printed implant that could change that. The study...
Seattle jury awards $24M in lawsuit against stem cell center
By Elise Takahama - Seattle Times - A King County jury has awarded $24 million to the family of a man who died a day after treatment at a Seattle stem cell center. Mike Trujillo was 62, a longtime electrician who ran an electrical company in Colorado. After being...
Phase I/II study finds intravitreal CD34+ stem cells safe and feasible in CRVO
by Lynda Charters - Opthamology - A newly published study found that intravitreal injection of autologous CD34+ stem cells is well tolerated and feasible for treating loss of vision resulting from central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), according to a press release...
After gene therapy exit, Pfizer locks in global license for Beam gene editing candidate
By Will Maddox - Fierce Biotech - After dumping its sole remaining gene therapy asset last year, Pfizer has decided to exercise its option for global rights to Beam Therapeutics’ liver-targeted gene editing candidate. The agreement, announced in Beam’s end-of-year...
More Sensitive Cell Therapy May Be a HIT Against Solid Cancers
By Columbia University Irving Medical Center - CAR-T cell therapy has revolutionized the treatment of many blood cancers, but has shown little success against solid tumors, which account for over 85% of all cancers. Columbia researchers have now found that a new type...
New iron nanomaterial wipes out cancer cells without harming healthy tissue
By Oregon State University - Science Daily - Scientists at Oregon State University have engineered a powerful new nanomaterial that zeroes in on cancer cells and destroys them from the inside out. Designed to exploit cancer’s unique chemistry—its acidity and high...
Humans Have a Third Set of Teeth. New Medicine May Help Them Grow.
By Tim Newcomb - Popular Mechanics - They could be ready by 2030. A sliver of what makes sharks so intriguing comes with their ability to regrow teeth. And while a group of Japanese researchers aren’t claiming that we should be trying to be the most shark-like...
AI uncovers the hidden genetic control centers driving Alzheimer’s
By University of California - Irvine - ScienceDaily - Scientists have created the most detailed maps yet of how genes control one another inside the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Using a powerful new AI-based system called SIGNET, the team uncovered...