genetic engineering

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Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Work as Intended
Genetically Modified
Mosquitoes Work as Intended
in case you missed it
Apr 23, 2022 12:50 PM CDT

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Work as Intended

In Florida, engineered male insects mate with females, and offspring was doomed

(Newser) - Results are in from a pilot study in Florida, where millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes were released into the wild. Some referred to it as the “ Jurassic Park ” experiment when it was announced last year, but—so far—everything is going to plan, according to UK biotech firm...

The 'Most Complicated' Gene Engineering Yet

Doctors safely used CRISPR technology on 3 cancer patients in the US for first time

(Newser) - The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in three patients who've had it so far, but it's too soon to know if it will improve survival, doctors reported Wednesday. The doctors were able to take immune...

Scientist Who Edited Babies' Genes May Be in Big Trouble

He Jiankui expected to face charges in China

(Newser) - A Chinese researcher who stunned the science world with his announcement in November that he had created the world's first gene-edited babies might not be free to conduct further research in the near future. Government investigators in China have concluded that He Jiankui and his team violated state regulations,...

Scientist Behind Gene-Edited Babies Speaks, to Condemnation

He Jiankui speaks publicly about the allegedly genetically edited babies

(Newser) - The Chinese researcher who has rattled the scientific world with his claim that he created the world's first genetically edited babies spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday, and he made a revelation, though an unclear one at that. While speaking at the Human Genome Editing Summit in Hong...

Infant Twins Lula and Nana May Be a World First

Chinese scientist claims to have created the first gene-edited babies

(Newser) - The twin girls are known as Lulu and Nana, and if a Chinese scientist is correct, they are the world's first babies born with edited genes. Researcher He Jiankui says he tweaked embryos with CRISPR technology in the hope of making the resulting infants naturally resistant to HIV, reports...

80% of His Skin Had Been Lost. Doctors Grew Him a Replacement

Genetic treatment saved 7-year-old's life

(Newser) - A child who was expected to die from a devastating skin disease is alive today thanks to an experimental treatment that grew him a whole new skin. Hassan, a 7-year-old Syrian boy living in Germany, was born with a condition called epidermolysis bullosa that prevented the outer layer of skin...

Coming Soon: Wheat Bread Those With Celiac Can Eat

It's not gluten-free, but scientists are working to eliminate the troublesome form of gluten

(Newser) - Those with celiac disease may soon be able to eat wheat bread. Wheat and related cereals contain proteins called gluten that hold breads and cakes together, and certain forms of gluten cause an immune reaction in some people, leaving them unable to eat wheat, barley, and rye, per IFL Science...

It's a Breakthrough Cancer Drug—And It'll Cost You

Novartis CEO stands by $475K charge for Kymriah

(Newser) - "The cancer world is forever changed." That's what a researcher is saying following the FDA's approval of America's first-ever treatment that genetically alters a person's cells to fight cancer. The customized treatment to be administered at certified medical centers involves drawing a patient's...

Scientists Successfully Remove Disease From Human Embryos

It's 1st time such gene editing has been done safely

(Newser) - Scientists say they've taken the first major step toward potentially preventing more than 10,000 inheritable conditions—including breast cancer, Huntington's disease, and cystic fibrosis—through genetic engineering, the New York Times reports. According to a study published Wednesday in Nature , scientists successfully edited genes in dozens of...

Scientists Create World's First True-Blue Mum
Scientists Just Achieved
'Holy Grail' of Plant Breeding
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 30, 2017 6:33 AM CDT

Scientists Just Achieved 'Holy Grail' of Plant Breeding

Japanese team engineers the first blue chrysanthemum

(Newser) - A development of "great impact" has been made in the world of flowers—specifically among chrysanthemums, which researchers have just turned a true-blue hue for the first time, per Science . The magazine explains that vibrant blue flowers are hard to find in nature—only a few species exist, and...

3-Parent Baby Born After 2-Decade Ban

With mom's nuclear DNA, donor's mitochondrial DNA, and dad's sperm

(Newser) - A 5-month-old born using a "revolutionary" genetic technique is said to be the world's first baby created using DNA from three parents since the technique was banned about two decades ago, New Scientist reports. The boy, IDed by the International Business Times as Abrahim Hassan, was born in...

UK Gives Controversial OK for Editing Human Genes

It could help fight inherited diseases—but critics say there's an ethical 'slippery slope'

(Newser) - Britain's fertility regulator has approved a scientist's request to edit the human genetic code in an effort to fight inherited diseases—but critics fear the new technique crosses too many ethical boundaries, reports the AP . The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority announced Monday it has granted a research...

Scientists Make Pot Chemical Out of ... Yeast?

Genetically altered yeast could 'change the lives of millions': company CEO

(Newser) - Synthesized versions of tetrahydrocannabinol—that's THC, the active ingredient in marijuana— already exist in pill form and are used to treat nausea, vomiting, and appetite loss that often follows cancer treatments or appears in patients with AIDS. But a new process out of Germany could offer a less expensive,...

Mutant Bugs' Task: Destroy Own Species

Fruit flies implanted with gene to halt population

(Newser) - How do you get rid of a population of bugs destroying your crops? Scientists are trying out a controversial method: spreading a gene that prevents females from reproducing. Males can live with the lab-inserted gene, but females die in the larval stage—which doesn't leave a lot of options...

We Might Look Like Anime Characters In 100K Years

Artist and geneticist offer eye-popping vision of human race's future

(Newser) - How will humans evolve over the next 20,000, 60,000 years and 100,000 years? An artist has teamed up with a computational geneticist to research and illustrate one possible timeline, in which our species basically genetically engineers itself into looking like really creepy anime characters, Forbes reports. "...

Non-Browning Apple Has Growers Seeing Red

Genetically-engineered fruit has some growers fuming

(Newser) - It sounds like magic: an apple that won't turn brown when cut or bruised. But the genetically-engineered fruit's special powers aren't enough to win over other apple growers, who say it's just unnatural. The Arctic Apple, from small Canadian firm Okanagan Specialty Fruits, could hurt consumers'...

Environmentalists Fear New Biotech Corn

Dow's 'Enlist' resists powerful herbicide

(Newser) - Debate is raging over a new biotech corn engineered by Dow Chemical. The corn, called "Enlist," is intended to solve farmers' struggle against tough weeds; that's because it's resistant to a powerful herbicide, also made by Dow. But environmentalists fear that wind, heat, and humidity would...

Scientists Make Seaweed-Fuel Breakthrough

Next hurdle: bringing it to market

(Newser) - Algae-based fuel is a step closer to reality. Scientists in California have genetically modified a microbe so that it can convert seaweed into biofuel, the Guardian reports. "Natural seaweed species grow very fast—10 times faster than normal plants—and are full of sugars, but it has been very...

Biotech Firm Says It Can Grow Diesel



 Biotech Firm Says 
 It Can Grow Diesel 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 5, 2011 7:18 AM CST

Biotech Firm Says It Can Grow Diesel

Joule Unlimited's organism absorbs sunlight, carbon dioxide, secretes fuel

(Newser) - A Massachusetts biotech company says it has created an organism capable of radically transforming the energy business—and the world. Joule Unlimited claims its genetically-engineered organism can create diesel fuel or ethanol using only the same ingredients grass needs to grow: sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Skeptics, however, doubt whether...

Coming to Your Plate: Genetically Modified Salmon

But critics say there's a transparency issue

(Newser) - The FDA has declared a genetically engineered salmon safe for human consumption, putting it one brief swim away from a supermarket near you. Dubbed AquAdvantage Salmon, the Massachusetts-bred fish have been enhanced with a gene from an ocean pout—an eel-like fish—that allows them to grow all year round,...

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