HONG KONG (AP) — China’s government ordered a halt Thursday to work by a medical team that claimed to have helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, as a group of leading scientists declared that it’s still too soon to try to make permanent changes to DNA that can be inherited by future generations. Chinese…
Scientist Claiming Gene-Edited Babies Reports 2nd Pregnancy
HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese researcher who claims to have helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies says a second pregnancy may be underway. The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, revealed the possible pregnancy Wednesday while making his first public comments about his controversial work at an international conference in Hong Kong. He claims to…
US Doctor Warns Against Backlash to Gene-Edited Baby Claim
HONG KONG (AP) — A prominent American scientist is warning against a backlash to the claim that a Chinese scientist has helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies. Harvard Medical School dean Dr. George Daley says it would be unfortunate if a misstep with a first case led scientists and regulators to reject the good…
Officials Remove Special Rules for Gene Therapy Experiments
U.S. health officials are eliminating special regulations for gene therapy experiments, saying that what was once exotic science is quickly becoming an established form of medical care with no extraordinary risks. A special National Institutes of Health oversight panel will no longer review all gene therapy applications and will instead take on a broader advisory…
What’s In The IV bag? Studies Show Safer Option Than Saline
New research calls into question what’s in those IV bags that nearly every hospitalized patient gets. Using a different intravenous fluid instead of the usual saline greatly reduced the risk of death or kidney damage, two large studies found. The difference could mean 50,000 to 70,000 fewer deaths and 100,000 fewer cases of kidney failure…
Quickly Reporting Cancer Complications May Boost Survival
If you’re being treated for cancer, speak up about any side effects. A study that had patients use home computers to report symptoms like nausea and fatigue surprisingly improved survival—by almost half a year, longer than many new cancer drugs do. The online tool was intended as a quick and easy way for people to regularly report…
FDA Approves More Drugs, and Faster, than Europe, Study Says
Contrary to some political claims, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved more drugs, and two to three months faster on average, than European regulators did in recent years, new research shows. “It’s an urban myth” that the FDA is slower than other countries to clear promising treatments for patients, said the agency’s longtime cancer drugs chief, Dr. Richard Pazdur.…