I just finished filming a segment for PBS NewsHour, their national nightly news show along with Jennifer Doudna. It will air tonight. Take a look. Gwen Ifill interviewed Doudna and me about CRISPR and human genetic modification. I’ve pasted the video in YouTube Above. You can read my interview with Dr. Doudna on The …
Watch Jennifer Doudna and I talking #CRISPR tonight on PBS NewsHour Read More »
A recent piece on CRISPR genetic modification in the New Yorker called The Gene Hackers or Human 2.0 by Michael Specter is striking in a number of ways. I highly recommend it. The article provides an in-depth look at CRISPR and its potential use for human editing. I like how the article brings so many …
Haunting Doudna nightmare about Hitler wanting CRISPR Read More »
The House Subcommittee on Research and Technology on Tuesday held a CRISPR hearing: “The Science and Ethics of Genetically Engineered Human DNA”. At the meeting, CRISPR pioneer Dr. Jennifer Doudna gave testimony along with Dr. Victor Dzau who is the President of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Dr. …
Doudna & Others Testify to Congress on CRISPR, Human Germline Editing Read More »
With more than 250 votes cast, Jennifer Doudna is leading by a decisive margin in a poll asking who deserves the patent for use of CRISPR-Cas9 as a tool. Feng Zhang got only just over half the votes of Doudna. Another take home message from this poll is that a sizable minority–almost one in five– said …
Doudna most deserving of CRISPR Cas9 patent, says poll Read More »
I’m doing a series of interviews with leaders in the field on human germline modification with the first interview in this series with George Church and today’s second in this series is a conversation I had with Dr. Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer in CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Doudna is a Professor in MCB and Chemistry as well …
Jennifer Doudna Interview on CRISPR, Human Gene Editing Read More »
Most of us have heard of organoids but what about the related model called an “assembloid”, which is a term growing in use including from organoid researcher Sergiu Pasca of Stanford? Before we jump into that, be sure to enter The Niche stem cell image contest for your chance to win $100 or some swag. …
Hematopoietic stem cells have many clinical applications and a company called Gamida Cell has an interesting product in this area called Omidubicel that may have several applications. I’m going to start the weekly reads with news there. Gamida Cell and the FDA A recent piece discussed how Omidubicel is progressing with the FDA. FDA extends …
Weekly reads: Gamida Cell, Siddhartha Mukherjee, CRISPR in viruses Read More »
The last six months I’ve been spending even more time than usual writing NIH grants (and a few others). The last two weeks have been especially busy on this front as I am getting an R01 renewal out the door. My paper reading lately has been mostly related to the grant writing I’m doing. Still, …
Weekly reads: NIH grants, side effect of darker hair, FDA warning, CRISPR Read More »
Parabiosis refers to the joining together of two animals, typically rodents in research. They become one interconnected living system that shares blood. Research on mouse parabiosis has sparked much interest in anti-aging therapies. These might utilize “young” materials to help older people. Our first recommended read is a parabiosis paper. Before we jump into that, …
Weekly stem cell reads: parabiosis, UC Davis trial, HeLa lawsuit, gray hair Read More »
This has been one of those weeks where I spent some time thinking about taking risks in science. How much risk one should take? Risks can come in many forms. It could be at the core level at the bench doing specific experiments and not others. There’s risk in clinical trials, and even in advocacy. Sometimes …
Weekly science reads: Macchiarini trial, somites, CRISPR babies Read More »