There’s New Hope for an HIV Vaccine
Since it was first identified in 1983, HIV has infected more than 85 million people and caused some 40 million deaths worldwide. While medication known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, …
biotech
The First Person to Receive a Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died
Richard “Rick” Slayman, the first person to receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig, has died almost two months after the transplant. He was 62. The historic procedure was …
These Artificial Blood Platelets Could One Day Save Lives
When donated blood is in low supply, platelets are even scarcer. These cell fragments, which are essential for blood clotting, have a short shelf life. Whereas whole blood can be …
The US Is Cracking Down on Synthetic DNA
The White House has issued new rules aimed at companies that manufacture synthetic DNA after years of warnings that a pathogen made with mail-order genetic material could accidentally or intentionally …
China Has a Controversial Plan for Brain-Computer Interfaces
At a tech forum in Beijing last week, a Chinese company unveiled a “homegrown” brain-computer interface that allowed a monkey to seemingly control a robotic arm just by thinking about …
Doctors Combined a Heart Pump and Pig Kidney Transplant in Breakthrough Surgery
The kidney used in the latest NYU transplant was procured from a pig with a single genetic edit—the removal of a gene that produces a sugar known as alpha gal. …
The Next Frontier for Brain Implants Is Artificial Vision
Brian Bussard has 25 tiny chips in his brain. They were installed in February 2022 as part of a study testing a wireless device designed to produce rudimentary vision in …
He Got a Pig Kidney Transplant. Now Doctors Need to Keep It Working
Other than rejection of the organ, one of the most common transplant complications is infection. Doctors have to strike a balance when prescribing immunosuppressive drugs: too low a dose can …
This Bag of Cells Could Grow New Livers Inside of People
In early experiments, Lagasse found that if he injected healthy liver cells into the lymph nodes of mice, the cells would flourish and form a second, smaller liver to take …
Meet the Designer Behind Neuralink’s Surgical Robot
As a designer, what safety considerations did you have to think about with the Neuralink device? The primary safety considerations weren’t so much on the device but on the robot. …