Scientists Able To Alter Single Letter In DNA Sequence With New Gene-Editing Technique
It might not sound impressive, but tens of thousands of human diseases can be traced back to a mistake with just one letter in the DNA. In other public health news: more from Reuters in its series on selling dead bodies; the legacy of abuse toward minorities in health studies; gun safety; cholesterol; arsenic; and more.
Los Angeles Times:
New Gene-Editing Technique May Lead To Treatment For Thousands Of Diseases
Scientists from Harvard University have just unveiled a new gene editor that uses the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 technology to target and change a single letter in a string of DNA bases — no cutting necessary. Considering that there are billions of letters in the human genome, converting one letter to another may not sound like much. But tens of thousands of human diseases can be traced to these tiny mistakes, scientists say. (Netburn, 10/25)
The Washington Post:
Scientists Announce New Gene-Editing Techniques Aimed At Common Mutations
Genetics is having a moment in the sun. Last year, biologists at the University of Bath in England created mice with neon feet. Scientists edited human embryos for the first time in the United States in August, cutting out a mutation for a heritable heart disease. Earlier this month, research spearheaded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences produced leaner pigs — a harbinger, one imagines, of low-fat bacon. (Guarino, 10/25)
Reuters:
How One Company Made A Fortune Selling Bodies Donated To Science
In 2008, a thriving company named Science Care Inc developed a 55-page national expansion plan. The internal document projected the yield on raw material to the decimal point and earnings to the dollar. The goal: to maximize profits from the sale of human bodies donated to science. The company’s model for ensuring quality: McDonald’s Corp. (Grow and Shiffman, 10/26)
Reuters:
Special Report: Reuters Buys Human Remains, And Learns A Donor's Tragic Story
Cody Saunders was born in 1992 with failing kidneys and a hole in his heart. When he died on his 24th birthday, he had endured 66 surgeries and more than 1,700 rounds of dialysis, his parents said. Some days, he hid the pain in upbeat selfies on Facebook. Other days, he shared an excruciating reality, posing in a hospital bed with bandages strapped across his scarred chest. (Grow and Shiffman, 10/25)
Reuters:
Special Report: How And Why Reuters Purchased Bodies For Its Investigation
Reuters spent more than a year examining the workings of a multimillion-dollar industry that dissects, rents and sells the donated dead. Such firms are sometimes called body brokers, but they prefer to be known as non-transplant tissue banks. They acquire, usually for free, bodies that have been donated to science. Then they often cut those bodies into pieces and sell the parts for hundreds or thousands of dollars each. The buyers are typically medical researchers, device makers and groups that train doctors. (Grow and Shiffman, 10/25)
NPR:
Troubling Legacy Of Tuskegee Study, Henrietta Lacks Still An Obstacle In Medical Research
It's a Sunday morning at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a famous African-American church in the Harlem area of New York City. The organist plays as hundreds of worshippers stream into the pews. The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III steps to the pulpit. "Now may we stand for our call to worship," says Butts, as he begins a powerful three-hour service filed with music, dancing, prayers and preaching. "How good and pleasant it is when all of God's children get together." (Stein, 10/25)
The CT Mirror:
Murphy Introduces Background-Check Gun Bill As ‘Long-Haul Strategy’
Sen. Chris Murphy on Wednesday reintroduced a background-check gun bill he’s been trying to make law since a gunman killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown at the end of 2012. Nearly five years later, Congress has yet to approve a substantive gun control measure, even the least controversial of those gun control advocates have proposed – a bill that would expand FBI background checks of gun buyers. (Radelat, 10/25)
The Washington Post:
Pat Yourself On The Back, America. Your Cholesterol Levels Are Holding Steady, CDC Says.
When it comes to our health as a nation, we’re not doing so great. Some cancer rates are climbing sharply. Nearly one in eight Americans has diabetes. And we are ballooning in weight, with obesity rates at record highs. Amid that grim picture, government researchers on Thursday had a glimmer of good news: Our cholesterol numbers, which have improved significantly over the past 17 years, are holding steady. (Wan, 10/26)
San Jose Mercury News:
How Much Arsenic Was Found In Baby Food?
A scary new study found that many popular baby foods test positive for arsenic, including a whopping 80% of infant formulas. That’s a pretty terrifying fact to wrap your mind around if you’re a new mom or dad and you’ve just been up all night trying to take care of your bundle of joy. Now, in between middle-of-the-night diaper changes and breast-feeding issues, you also have to worry about the poisons that may be hiding in your baby’s food. So sit down, get some coffee and take a deep breath. (D'Souza, 10/25)
NPR:
Scientists And Surgeons Team Up To Create Virtual Human Brain Cells
Scientists in Seattle have created three-dimensional computer reconstructions of living human brain cells by studying tissue that is usually discarded during surgery. The virtual cells, unveiled Wednesday by The Allen Institute for Brain Science, capture not only the shape and anatomy of living cells, but also the electrical signals they produce. (Hamilton, 10/25)
NPR:
It's Never A Good Idea To Stick Magnets Up Your Nose
Kids stick things in their nose, ears, and mouth all the time; it may be another way for them to explore and learn. But getting those objects out be challenging, and can take some creativity. Like when an 11-year-old boy put button magnets up both nostrils, where they locked tightly onto his septum. (Jochem, 10/25)
