Flashy Improvements Are Turning Gene-Editing Technology Into Swiss Army Knife Of Treatments

Scientists were already excited about CRISPR's potential as a total game-changer in curing illnesses, and now it's been taken up another level. In other public health news: stem cells, gut bacteria, neighborhoods' effects on health, and smog.

Stat: With New CRISPR Inventions, Its Pioneers Say, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

No one would be surprised if scientists announced tomorrow that CRISPR had leapt tall test tubes in a single bound, but until that happens, fans of the superhero genome-editing system will have to be content with a trio of almost-as-flashy (but potentially more useful) new tricks, all unveiled on Thursday. (Begley, 2/15)

Stat: Researchers Use Of Stem Cells Could Open Another Door To Immunotherapy

With a special type of stem cell that can be spun from skin or blood, researchers have developed a vaccine that helped stave off cancer in mice, opening up another branch in the booming field of immunotherapy. Cancer cells and stem cells share some of the same molecules on their surfaces. In the new research, which was described Thursday in the journal Cell Stem Cell, scientists injected mice with their own stem cells, essentially training their immune systems to launch attacks when they identified those molecules — called antigens — elsewhere, including on cancer cells. (Joseph, 2/15)

Stat: A Microbiome Connoisseur Becomes A Reluctant Entrepreneur

Outside of Emma Allen-Vercoe’s office is a bulletin board pinned with her team’s scientific papers since 2013. It’s the academic’s answer to a military uniform grown heavy with medals. But all of that research has come with a side effect: an impressive intimacy with the smells of human digestion. “This is what we formally call the poopy lab,” she said one morning at the end of January. “Every donor that we use has a distinct aroma, because they have a different profile of microbes in the gut, so it’s like a fine wine — just not quite so fine. I guess this is Eau de Ulcerative Colitis … which smells different from Eau de Obesity, and Eau de Healthy Person.” (Boodman, 2/16)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Living In An Ethnic Neighborhood Can Influence Health, For Good And Ill, Research Suggests

Researchers have long known that where you live – near a Superfund site, for instance – can affect your cancer risk. A new study suggests that who you live with – as in, your neighbors – can affect that risk, as well. The research, recently published in the journal Cancer, was led by Carolyn Fang, co-leader of the cancer prevention and control program at Fox Chase Cancer Center. (Bauers, 2/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: Fragranced Products To Blame For Smog As Much As Cars, Study Finds

In another blow to vanity, a new study finds that shampoos, moisturizers and colognes people use every day cause just as much smog as the exhaust spewing out of car and truck engines on the streets and highways. The study, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and UC Davis, establishes a stronger link than ever before between air pollution and the lotions, perfumes, hair sprays, and other grooming and cleaning products that Bay Area residents use every day. (Fimrite, 2/15)

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