Yesterday, the World Health Organization wrapped up its first meeting of a new advisory committee set up to create global governance and oversight standards for human gene editing. The committee was hastily pulled together in December after the revelation last year that a Chinese scientist had genetically modified two embryos using CRISPR technology to remove the […]
View More The World Health Organization is setting up rules and oversight for human gene editingCategory: biology
XGenomes is bringing DNA sequencing to the masses
As healthcare moves toward genetically tailored treatments, one of the biggest hurdles to truly personalized medicine is the lack of fast, low-cost genetic testing. And few people are more familiar with the problems of today’s genetic diagnostics tools than Kalim Mir, the 52-year-old founder of XGenomes, who has spent his entire professional career studying the […]
View More XGenomes is bringing DNA sequencing to the massesMammoth Biosciences adds the final piece of the CRISPR diagnostics puzzle to its toolkit
With the announcement today that Mammoth Biosciences has received the exclusive license from the University of California, Berkeley to the new CRISPR protein Cas14, the company now has the last piece of its diagnostics toolkit in place. Cas14 is a newly discovered protein from the lab of Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer in gene-editing research and […]
View More Mammoth Biosciences adds the final piece of the CRISPR diagnostics puzzle to its toolkitWork on world’s first CRISPR gene-edited babies declared illegal by China
Chinese authorities have declared the work of He Jiankui, who shocked the scientific community by claiming he successfully created the world’s first gene-edited babies, an illegal decision in pursuit of “personal fame and gain.” Investigators have completed preliminary steps in a probe that began in November following He’s claims and say they will “seriously” punish the researcher […]
View More Work on world’s first CRISPR gene-edited babies declared illegal by ChinaCurious 23andMe twin results show why you should take DNA testing with a grain of salt
If you’ve ever enthusiastically sent your spit off in the mail, you were probably anxious for whatever unexpected insights the current crop of DNA testing companies would send back. Did your ancestors hang out on the Iberian peninsula? What version of your particular family lore does the science support? Most people who participate in mail-order […]
View More Curious 23andMe twin results show why you should take DNA testing with a grain of saltDriving down the cost of preserving genetic material, Acorn Biolabs raises $3.3 million
Acorn Biolabs wants consumers to pay them to store genetic material in a bet that the increasing advances in targeted genetic therapies will yield better healthcare results down the line. The company’s pitch is to “Save young cells today, live a longer, better, tomorrow.” It’s a gamble on the frontiers of healthcare technology that has managed […]
View More Driving down the cost of preserving genetic material, Acorn Biolabs raises $3.3 millionUp to $818 million deal between J&J and Locus Biosciences points to a new path for CRISPR therapies
The up to $818 million deal between Locus Biosciences and Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a division of Johnson & Johnson) that was announced yesterday points toward a new path for CRISPR gene editing technologies and (potentially) the whole field of microbiome-targeted therapies. Based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., Locus is commercializing research initially developed by scientists at […]
View More Up to $818 million deal between J&J and Locus Biosciences points to a new path for CRISPR therapiesSophia Genetics bags $77M Series E, with 850+ hospitals signed up to its “data-driven medicine”
Another sizeable cash injection for big data biotech: Sophia Genetics has announced a $77M Series E funding round, bringing its total raised to $140M since the business was founded back in 2011. The company, which applies AI to DNA sequencing to enable what it dubs “data-driven medicine”, last closed a $30M Series D in fall 2017. […]
View More Sophia Genetics bags $77M Series E, with 850+ hospitals signed up to its “data-driven medicine”Companies tracking mutations in cancer cells can provide a key to unlocking better therapies
Investors and entrepreneurs are beginning to bring new diagnostic tools to market that promise better results for cancer patients through the identification of mutations in cancer cells that can create more targeted therapies. Earlier this month, research using technology developed by the startup Mission Bio helped identify cellular mutations in acute myeloid leukemia cancer cells that could […]
View More Companies tracking mutations in cancer cells can provide a key to unlocking better therapiesDeepMind claims early progress in AI-based predictive protein modelling
Google -owned AI specialist, DeepMind, has claimed a “significant milestone” in being able to demonstrate the usefulness of artificial intelligence to help with the complex task of predicting 3D structures of proteins based solely on their genetic sequence. Understanding protein structures is important in disease diagnosis and treatment, and could improve scientists’ understanding of the human […]
View More DeepMind claims early progress in AI-based predictive protein modellingCRISPR scientist in China claims his team’s research has resulted in the world’s first gene-edited babies
In a dramatic development for CRISPR research, a Chinese scientist from a university in Shenzhen claims he has succeeded in helping create the world’s first genetically-edited babies. Dr. Jiankui He told the Associated Press that twin girls were born earlier this month after he edited their embryos using CRISPR technology to remove the CCR5 gene, […]
View More CRISPR scientist in China claims his team’s research has resulted in the world’s first gene-edited babiesThe Trump administration says there are two sexes. The science says they’re wrong.
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The Trump administration intends to legally define sex as strictly male or female. But the science says that sex can be quite varied — and not so easily boxed into a narrow category.
This past weekend, The New York Times revealed that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has plans to define one’s sex based exclusively upon the biological genitalia they’re born with — ostensibly to make the definition of sex more consistent under civil rights laws that ban discrimination.
But herein lies a problem: A person’s biological sex doesn’t always fit unilaterally into male or female. And perhaps more importantly, one’s gender — how one learns and chooses to socially identify across the male and female spectrum — can be much more varied. Read more…
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