Biotech

Slayman received his first kidney transplant in 2018 from a human donor. The donor kidney initially functioned well, but Slayman started to go into kidney failure after years of living with diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, which can eventually result in kidney failure.He had no choice but to go on dialysis, a treatment that removes excess fluid and waste from a person’s blood. But the dialysis caused complications—his blood vessels were clotting and failing. Slayman wound up in the hospital…

Through genomic sequencing and analytics, Sacramento-based Personalis aims to make detection of cancer ever more precise and timely. In October 2023, the company launched early access to its NeXT Personal Dx test, which offers ultra-sensitive circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection, enabling earlier detection of cancer recurrence and more detailed monitoring of treatment response. NeXT Personal Dx is a whole-genome sequencing test that detects circulating tumor DNA molecules, finding previously hidden traces of residual…

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry—they are used in immunotherapy to treat numerous illnesses, with high potency against emerging viruses. Since 2016, about 70% of all mAbs have been grown in the cell lines of Chinese hamster ovaries, which produce humanlike antibodies. To make sure that no trace of these host cells remains in the final product, drug manufacturers rely on “spiking” studies that use live infectious viruses and require specialized Biological Safety Level…

If you have a dog or cat, chances are you’ve given your pet a flavored chewable tablet for tick prevention at some point. What if you could take a similar pill to protect yourself from getting Lyme disease?Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing such a pill for humans—minus the tasty flavoring—that could provide protection against the tick-borne disease for several weeks at a time. In February, the Irvine, California–based biotech company announced results from a small, early-stage trial showing that 24 hours after taking…

De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences wants to bring back the woolly mammoth. Well, not the woolly mammoth exactly, but an Asian elephant gene-edited to give it the fuzzy hair and layer of blubber that allowed its close relative to thrive in sub-zero environments.To get to these so-called “functional mammoths,” Colossal’s scientists need to solve a whole bunch of challenges: making the right genetic tweaks, growing edited cells into fully formed baby functional mammoths, and finding a space where these animals can…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How tracking animal movement may save the planet Animals have long been able to offer unique insights about the natural world around us, acting as organic sensors picking up phenomena invisible to humans. Canaries warned of looming catastrophe in coal mines until the 1980s, for example. These days, we have more insight into animal behavior than ever…

Biotech seeds have been a huge business for a while. In fact, by sheer mass, GMOs are probably the single most significant product of genetic engineering ever. Except most of us aren’t planting rows of cotton or corn that can resist worms or survive a spritz of RoundUp, the big gene-splicing innovations that companies like Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred first introduced in the 1990s. What makes these new plants different is that you can buy them directly from their creators and then plant them in the yard, on a balcony,…

A recent study emphasizes the need for biological design to focus on the peculiarities of biological systems and embrace open-ended innovation, moving beyond traditional optimization to foster the development of novel and diverse solutions for global challenges. Credit: Thomas GorochowskiNew research suggests that scientists engaged in biological design should prioritize understanding the unique characteristics of biological systems rather than striving for over-optimization.In a study, published in Science Advances,…

A new biotech startup developing immuno-dermatology technologies for skin diseases has launched today with $100mn (€93mn) in seed funding. Based in Boston and Geneva, Alys Pharmaceuticals is co-founded by Medicixi, a European healthcare-focused investment firm, and six university scientists, including Nobel Prize winner Craig Mello. The startup is a merger of six individual companies in the field (also backed by Medicixi), which in combination boast 14 active R&D programmes. Alys is…

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) isn’t the most commonly known cancer. It is, however, one of the deadliest—an awful rare malignancy of the blood and bone marrow whose victims are already older and frail, on average 68 years old when diagnosed. It has few treatment options—chemotherapy is most common, according to the American Cancer Society—and any available ones must be deployed immediately after it’s diagnosed given how rapidly this aggressive cancer spreads. Nearly 70% of AML patients die within five years of diagnosis,…