Do-It-Yourself Gene-Editing Revolution Poised To Go Catastrophically Wrong
The most pressing worry is that someone could use the budding technology to create a bioweapon. But experts are also concerned about the safety of so-called biohackers with altered genes that they brewed at home. In other public health news: fertility advances, LGBTQ teens, immunotherapy, PTSD, strokes, and more.
The New York Times:
As D.I.Y. Gene Editing Gains Popularity, ‘Someone Is Going To Get Hurt’
As a teenager, Keoni Gandall already was operating a cutting-edge research laboratory in his bedroom in Huntington Beach, Calif. While his friends were buying video games, he acquired more than a dozen pieces of equipment — a transilluminator, a centrifuge, two thermocyclers — in pursuit of a hobby that once was the province of white-coated Ph.D.’s in institutional labs. “I just wanted to clone DNA using my automated lab robot and feasibly make full genomes at home,” he said. (Baumgaertner, 5/14)
The Washington Post:
Fertility Doctor John Zhang Pushes Boundaries In Human Reproduction
When future historians look back on the 21st century, one of the most iconic photos may be of a smiling, dark-haired man in blue scrubs protectively holding a newborn — the world’s first commercially produced “three-parent” baby. This is John Zhang, the Chinese-born, British-educated founder and medical director of a Manhattan fertility center that is blowing up the way humans reproduce. In 2009, Zhang helped a 49-year-old patient become the world’s oldest known woman to carry her own child. In the not-too-distant future, he says, 60-year-old women will be able to do the same. (Cha, 5/14)
The Washington Post:
Among Thousands Of LGBTQ Teens, A Survey Finds Anxiety And Fears About Safety
A new survey finds significant anxiety and fear among teenagers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. The survey findings, released Tuesday, are based on the answers of roughly 12,000 youth ages 13 to 17 who responded to an online solicitation by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and other advocacy groups. Researchers say they reveal the depth of challenges that LGBTQ teens face. At home, at school, in social circles and communities, these teens are experiencing high levels of anxiety, feelings of rejection and fears for their safety, according to a report on the survey findings. (Nutt, 5/15)
Stat:
In Cancer Immunotherapies, A Radioactive Crystal Ball May Predict Success
The whole point of the game-changing cancer immunotherapies is to get armadas of T cells sailing into battle against tumors. But for some patients there’s a fundamental problem: Their T cells aren’t armed — or, in bio-speak, “activated,” a big reason why many patients aren’t helped by much-hyped new therapies. If a new technique reported on Monday works in people as well as it does in lab mice, however, physicians will be able to tell almost immediately if a patient’s immune system is armed and, if it’s not, quickly switch therapies, increase dosages, or just spare patients often-serious side effects. (Begley, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Parkland Students Quietly Share Stories To Process Trauma
When freshman Eden Hebron wanted to capture the searing experience of being in a classroom where a fellow student killed her best friend and three other people, she turned to poetry. The result was "1216," named after the number of the room at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School: "The screams blasting in my ear. The blood still won't disappear. I scream for their names, call for my friends. Nothing else to do, they are gone, they are dead." (5/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
How Doctors Locate Stroke Victims’ Brain Clots
It was 2 p.m., and the seventh stroke patient of the day, an elderly woman, was just flown in by helicopter to Erlanger Medical Center. Neurologist Emily DeCroos asked her a series of questions. “What time did you wake up?” “What day is it? What month? ”Repeat after me: ‘No ifs ands or buts.’” Other common commands: Close your eyes and stick out your tongue. Show me two fingers on your right hand. (Burton, 5/14)
The Associated Press:
Schumer Urges Passage Of Firefighter Cancer Registry Bill
Sen. Charles Schumer is urging the House of Representatives to pass legislation creating a national firefighter cancer registry. The Democrat says the registry to be managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would help medical professionals more effectively track and treat firefighters with cancer. The registry bill has been approved by the Senate. (5/15)
The Hill:
Air Pollution Tied To High Blood Pressure For Children
Babies exposed to more air pollution are more likely to face elevated blood pressure, according to a study published Monday in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. The study found that air pollution is associated with higher risk of high blood pressure in adults and children. (Sanchez, 5/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
Collagen, A Wrinkle-Cream Staple, Catches On In Foods
The stuff in beauty creams is appearing in foods, as companies launch pricey snacks and drinks containing collagen—and many consumers are eating it up despite little hard evidence that it works. Valerie Grogan, a 53-year-old teacher’s aide in Torrance, Calif., three years ago began making a collagen-rich bone broth in her crockpot every week, hoping it would help soothe aches and smooth her skin. Recently, she discovered a vanilla-coconut collagen powder, which she mixes into coffee and smoothies. (Chaker, 5/14)
The New York Times:
How Exercise Can Help You Recall Words
Call them tip-of-the-tongue moments: those times we can’t quite call up the name or word that we know we know. These frustrating lapses are thought to be caused by a brief disruption in the brain’s ability to access a word’s sounds. We haven’t forgotten the word, and we know its meaning, but its formulation dances teasingly just beyond our grasp. Though these mental glitches are common throughout life, they become more frequent with age. Whether this is an inevitable part of growing older or somehow lifestyle-dependent is unknown. But because evidence already shows that physically fit older people have reduced risks for a variety of cognitive deficits, researchers recently looked into the relationship between aerobic fitness and word recall. (Reynolds, 5/15)
Kaiser Health News:
Will We Still Be Relevant ‘When We’re 64’?
A gnawing sense of irrelevancy and invisibility suddenly hits many aging adults, as their life roles shift from hands-on parent to empty nester or from workaholic to retiree. Self-worth and identity may suffer as that feeling that you matter starts to fade. Older adults see it in the workplace when younger colleagues seem uninterested in their feedback. Those who just retired might feel a bit unproductive. New research suggests this perception of becoming irrelevant is very real. And that’s why some seniors are determined to stay social, remain relevant and avert the loneliness often linked with aging. (Jayson, 5/15)
The Washington Post:
Ebola Outbreak Has Killed 19 So Far In Democratic Republic Of Congo
Nineteen people have died of Ebola in Congo as health officials plan to send an experimental vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus that killed thousands in West Africa a few years ago. The World Health Organization said there have been 39 confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola over the past five weeks as the virus spreads across three rural areas covering nearly 40 miles in the northwest part of the country. Among the dead were three health-care workers. Health officials are following up with nearly 400 people identified as contacts of Ebola patients. (Phillips, 5/14)
