Exa-cel, a new CRISPR-based treatment, modifies the genes of the patient's stem cells to induce them to produce fetal hemoglobin.
Genetic engineering
The British broadcaster has become part of a cynical anti-science collaboration.
Microbiomes are the collective and highly personal assortment of microorganisms that live in, on, and around us. If genetically modified effectively, these "black boxes" may help us cure cancer, understand how we can adapt to rising temperatures, play a role in mental health, and improve nutrition in children.
Recent breakthroughs in stem-cell have raised the prospect of one day "breeding" humans and growing organs in a lab. How realistic are these scenarios? Netflix just released an embarrassing miniseries about the opioid epidemic. Let's take a closer look at the show's claims.
For decades, excessive, unscientific regulation has slowed innovation using molecular genetic engineering. Policymakers must awaken to the realization that regulations based on pseudoscience or nescience are destructive and regressive. Tremendous innovations await, if only we have the wisdom to permit them to be developed.
Indian activist Vandana Shiva opposes the tools and practices of modern agriculture and science and advocates regressive policies that cause widespread malnourishment, famine, and death to the very people she claims to champion. And she's no friend of the environment, either. She should never be given a podium.
Technology has helped to double food production in the last 50 years. We have the cheapest, safest, most abundant food supply in history, but the enemies of progress, both foreign and domestic, continue to attack the technologies that have made that possible.
For two decades, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which advises the Pope on scientific issues, has made wise observations about the importance of molecular techniques for genetic modification and the most appropriate approaches to regulating them. It's a cardinal sin that most of the world has ignored them.
Russia's decades-old propaganda machine is vast and vicious. Its goal is to damage the health and prosperity of the country's adversaries, especially the United States.
King Charles III's longstanding opposition to genetic engineering is misguided and unconstructive. Genetic modification has long made products better, safer, and cheaper.
The ignorance surrounding what agricultural practices are truly "sustainable," even among people and institutions that should know better, is astonishing. The contributions of genetic engineering will be essential.
Once a touchy-feely, consciousness-raising New Age experience, it's now an occasion for environmental activists to prophesy apocalypse, dish antitechnology dirt, and allow passion and zeal to trump reality.