Some stuff on my mind for our TGIF Science this week. Research Funding Ups: NIH. Is it my imagination or is NIH funding slightly improving? This is the overall vibe I’m hearing from the trenches. Research Funding Ups and Downs: CIRM. CIRM funded some basic research to the tune of a total of $4 million, …
TGIF Science: funding, CRISPR v. NgAgo, secrets, Zika, & more Read More »
2020 Update: early NgAgo reports have been mostly discredited and there is doubt on its function as a gene-editing method. What could be better than CRISPR for gene editing? A new genetic modification technology called NgAgo has some researchers really excited. How does it compare to CRISPR? I’ll admit it that as a scientist who works on …
Will new gene editing tech NgAgo challenge CRISPR? Read More »
Editor’s note. Caroline Simons attended both the April 28th (see her report on that here) and 29th Paris meetings on human gene editing/genetic modification. Today, we have her in depth report on the April 29th meeting. I have posted her piece in full with only minor edits. If you are in a rush you can …
In Depth Report from April 29th Paris Human Gene Edit Meeting Read More »
Editors note: This is a guest post from Caroline Simons who is attending the two Paris meetings on human gene editing. For more background on those meetings see here. By Caroline Simons There were just over a hundred participants at the workshop organized by the Federation of European Academies of Medicine, the UK Academy of …
I talked last year about human genetic modification by CRISPR with George Church a year ago. Now we’ve followed up with a long chat on this topic going into much more detail and with questions on recent developments. Each question is listed numerically and then there is a back and forth on that question with George …
George Church chat: CRISPR people, Zika, weapons Read More »
One of the rewarding things about being a scientist is the opportunity to connect and even collaborate with other scientists around the world., but at the same time there is nationalism in science too. Some nations, perhaps most of them, and some scientists feel a sense of competition against others at least some of the time. …
We’ve heard of payphones, pay toilets, and other services for which people have to pay for access, but what about pay clinical trials? In a pay clinical trial, patients have to pay anywhere from $10K to over $100K to get in the door. I asked readers of this blog about how they feel about patients …
Donald Trump wants to build a ‘great wall’ to keep Mexicans out of America and charge for it. I’ve heard many scientists criticize this plan. But if you think about it, in science we already have our own “great” harmful walls related to money and Trump would probably love them. One such wall is the paywall …
Trump Would Love The Great Walls of Science & Medicine Read More »
There’s a growing trend whereby patients have to pay to be in a clinical trial. This is now widely referred to as “pay-to-play”. Proponents of this idea point toward potential benefits in the form of patients gaining access to innovative therapies. They also argue that this approach provides a much-needed funding mechanism for the trials …
Poll: How do you feel about ‘pay-to-play’ clinical trials? Read More »
Several of us here at UC Davis and other Northern California institutions have worked together to organize a unique symposium on CRISPR and genetic modification. You are invited to attend the free meeting, which will take place on May 26th. You can register here. We will cover CRISPR ethics, policy, and law as they relate both …
Invitation to attend novel CRISPR ethics & policy symposium Read More »