Sophie Ellen Buckland discusses whether it is ethical to change someone’s DNA even if it’s only to ‘cure’ someone of genetic diseases.
gene
The EB and Flow of Skin Condition Treatment.
Skin as delicate as a butterfly’s wing – this is how patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) are often described. The condition causes skin to blister and tear painfully in response to the lightest touch – even the touch of light clothing can be enough. EB is a genetic condition that occurs due to an absence […]
Venom-Stealing Viruses
Venom-stealing viruses sound like something plucked straight from a horror film, but a recent paper published in Nature Communications has discovered exactly that. Husband-and-wife team Seth and Sarah Bordenstein at Vanderbilt University, USA, found snippets of animal DNA within a bacteria-infecting virus. Gene stealing in viruses is not a new phenomenon but these findings are […]
Best of TED: Gene editing and the eradication of malaria
Jennifer Kahn is a science journalist whose articles cover the gene-editing abilities of CRISPR technology. Her TED talk, ‘Gene editing can now change an entire species – forever’ can be found on TED.com under the ‘Science’ section. No one can deny the blight malaria has been on the world. UNICEF figures show over a […]