Genetic Frontiers

New techniques let scientists zero in on individual cells

NEW YORK (AP) — Did you hear what happened when Bill Gates walked into a bar? Everybody there immediately became millionaires — on average.

Tests suggest scientists achieved 1st ‘in body’ gene editing

Could anyone have stopped gene-edited babies experiment?

Another gene-edited baby may be on the way, scientist says

Gene-editing Chinese scientist kept much of his work secret

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Science Says: Why scientists prize plant, animal genomes

NEW YORK (AP) — Just about every week, it seems, scientists publish the unique DNA code of some creature or plant.

Q&A on scientist’s bombshell claim of gene-edited babies

Designer babies might be here sooner than anyone reckoned. A Chinese researcher who says he created gene-edited babies crossed what most scientists consider a forbidden line.

Gene-edited baby claim by Chinese scientist sparks outrage

HONG KONG (AP) — Scientists and bioethics experts reacted with shock, anger and alarm Monday to a Chinese researcher’s claim that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies.

Chinese researcher claims first gene-edited babies

HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.

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.

Multi-gene test may find risk for heart disease and more

WASHINGTON (AP) — You know your cholesterol, your blood pressure ... your heart gene score? Researchers say a new way of analyzing genetic test data may one day help identify people at high risk of a youthful heart attack in time to help.

Gene tests can provide health clues -- and needless worry

NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, Katie Burns got a phone call that shows what can happen in medicine when information runs ahead of knowledge.

Genetic sleuthing bolsters food poisoning searches

ATLANTA (AP) — Disease hunters are using genetic sequencing in their investigation of the ongoing food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, a technique that is revolutionizing the detection of germs in food.

Parenting of the future: Many embryos, each with DNA profile

NEW YORK (AP) — So you want to have a baby.

Would you like a dark-haired girl with a high risk of someday getting colon cancer, but a good chance of above-average music ability?

Can gene therapy be harnessed to fight the AIDS virus?

For more than a decade, the strongest AIDS drugs could not fully control Matt Chappell’s HIV infection.

2nd man has gene editing; therapy has no safety flags so far

A second patient has been treated in a historic gene editing study in California, and no major side effects or safety issues have emerged from the first man’s treatment nearly three months ago, doctors revealed Tuesday.

Price tag on gene therapy for rare form of blindness: $850K

WASHINGTON (AP) — A first-of-its kind genetic treatment for blindness will cost $850,000 per patient, making it one of the most expensive medicines in the world and raising questions about the affordability of a coming wave of similar gene-targeting therapies.

In a milestone year, gene therapy finds a place in medicine

After decades of hope and high promise, this was the year scientists really showed they could doctor DNA to successfully treat diseases.

Gene therapy for rare form of blindness wins US approval

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials on Tuesday approved the nation’s first gene therapy for an inherited disease, a treatment that improves the sight of patients with a rare form of blindness.

AP Exclusive: US scientists try 1st gene editing in the body

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in a bold attempt to permanently change a person’s DNA to cure a disease.

Blood test may help predict which breast cancers will recur

A blood test five years after breast cancer treatment helped identify some women who were more likely to relapse, long before a lump or other signs appeared, a preliminary study found.

Gene therapy shows promise against blood-clotting disease

Gene therapy has freed 10 men from nearly all symptoms of hemophilia for a year so far, in a study that fuels hopes that a one-time treatment can give long-lasting help and perhaps even cure the blood disease.

Expanding DNA’s alphabet lets cells produce novel proteins

All life is made up of four DNA building blocks known by the letters A, T, C and G. Now scientists have created two additional artificial DNA “letters” and used them to make a semi-synthetic strain of bacteria.

AP Exclusive: US scientists try 1st gene editing in the body

American scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in hope of curing a disease.

Boy with rare disease gets brand new skin with gene therapy

LONDON (AP) — Doctors treating a critically ill boy with a devastating skin disease used experimental gene therapy to create an entirely new skin for most of his body in a desperate attempt to save his life.

Baby gene therapy study offers hope for fatal muscle disease

WASHINGTON (AP) — A first attempt at gene therapy for a disease that leaves babies unable to move, swallow and, eventually, breathe has extended the tots’ lives, and some began to roll over, sit and stand on their own, researchers reported Wednesday.

Scientists working toward reversible kind of gene editing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are altering a powerful gene-editing technology in hopes of one day fighting diseases without making permanent changes to people’s DNA.

Ultra-personal therapy: Gene tumor boards guide cancer care

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Doctors were just guessing a decade ago when they gave Alison Cairnes’ husband a new drug they hoped would shrink his lung tumors.

Seeing hope: FDA panel considers gene therapy for blindness

A girl saw her mother’s face for the first time. A boy tore through the aisles of Target, marveling at toys he never knew existed.

Gene therapy helps boys with ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’ disease

The fledgling field of gene therapy has scored another win: An experimental treatment seemed to help boys with the inherited nerve disease featured in the movie “Lorenzo’s Oil.”

Wanted: 1 million people to study genes, habits and health

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a quest to end cookie-cutter health care, U.S. researchers are getting ready to recruit more than 1 million people for an unprecedented study to learn how our genes, environments and lifestyles interact — and to finally customize ways to prevent and treat disease.

The big question: Will cancer immune therapy work for me?

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dennis Lyon was a genetic train wreck. Cancer was ravaging his liver, lungs, bones and brain, and tests showed so many tumor mutations that drugs targeting one or two wouldn’t do much good.

Lab-made “mini organs” helping doctors treat cystic fibrosis

UTRECHT, Netherlands (AP) — Els van der Heijden, who has cystic fibrosis, was finding it ever harder to breathe as her lungs filled with thick, sticky mucus.

First embryo gene-repair holds promise for inherited disease

WASHINGTON (AP) — Altering human heredity? In a first, researchers safely repaired a disease-causing gene in human embryos, targeting a heart defect best known for killing young athletes — a big step toward one day preventing a list of inherited diseases.

Scientists build DNA from scratch to alter life’s blueprint

NEW YORK (AP) — At Jef Boeke’s lab, you can whiff an odor that seems out of place, as if they were baking bread here.