50 years after a seminal conference, big questions about biotechnology remain
In 1975, researchers met to discuss the emerging field of biotechnology. The issues surrounding the field today are familiar.
bioethics
Doctors try a controversial technique to reduce the transplant organ shortage
Doctors say they can boost the odds donated organs will be usable by restarting blood circulation with a pump after donors are declared dead. Critics say the procedure blurs the definition of death.
A woman with failing kidneys receives genetically modified pig organs
Surgeons transplanted a kidney and thymus gland from a gene-edited pig into a 54-year-old woman in an attempt to extend her life. It's the latest experimental use of animal organs in humans.
An artificial womb could build a bridge to health for premature babies
Artificial wombs could someday save babies born very prematurely. Even though the experimental technology is still in animal tests, there are mounting questions about its eventual use with humans.
How genetically modified pigs could end the shortage of organs for transplants
Scientists are optimistic that gene-edited animals could provide a new source of organs for transplantation. Pig organs modified to minimize rejection are now being tested in humans.
Infertile people, gay and trans couples yearn for progress on lab-made eggs and sperm
An experimental technology that might someday allow infertile couples, as well as gay and trans couples, to have genetically related children stirs hope. So far, the technique has worked in mice.
Startup aims to make lab-grown human eggs, transforming options for creating families
New companies are working to commercialize in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, a technology that could make human eggs and sperm in the lab from any cell in the body.
Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions
A Mississippi woman's life has been transformed by a treatment for sickle cell disease with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. All her symptoms from a disease once thought incurable have disappeared.
Ethical concerns temper optimism about gene-editing for human diseases
The Third International Summit on Genome Editing concluded Monday with ethicists warning scientists to slow down efforts to use gene-editing to enhance the health of embryos.
Scientists Say They Could Bring Back Woolly Mammoths. But Maybe They Shouldn't
A company formed by Harvard genetics professor George Church, known for his pioneering work in genome sequencing and gene splicing, hopes to genetically resurrect woolly mammoths.