biotechnology

Education

GTCC is launching new biotechnology program as industry grows in North Carolina

10:45am April 18, 2025

Guilford Technical Community College officials say the new Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology program is meant to prepare students for high-demand jobs.

Herbert Boyer (UCSF) and Paul Berg (Stanford) at a conference at Asilomar, February 26, 1975.

50 years after a seminal conference, big questions about biotechnology remain

10:41am February 25, 2025

In 1975, researchers met to discuss the emerging field of biotechnology. The issues surrounding the field today are familiar.

Education

First Lady Jill Biden visits Forsyth Tech to highlight investments in biotechnology

3:56pm January 26, 2024

by Amy Diaz

First lady Jill Biden paid a visit to Forsyth Technical Community College Friday morning. She spoke with local leaders and students in the field of biotechnology.

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Conner Curran, 9, (right) and his brother Will, 7, at their home in Ridgefield, Conn., this week. The gene therapy treatment that stopped the muscle wasting of Conner's muscular dystrophy two years ago took more than 30 years of research to develop.

A Boy With Muscular Dystrophy Was Headed For A Wheelchair. Then Gene Therapy Arrived

9:09am July 27, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

Gene therapy has helped a 9-year-old boy regain enough muscle strength to run. If successful in others, the treatment could change the lives of thousands of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Biomarin Pharmaceutical, a California company that makes what could become the first gene therapy for hemophilia, says its drug's price tag might be $3 million per patient.

Gene Therapy Shows Promise For Hemophilia, But Could Be Most Expensive U.S. Drug Ever

9:23am July 20, 2020

by Rob Stein

The first gene therapy for hemophilia could be approved by the FDA within six months, according to the drugmaker, raising hopes among families. But the drug's price could be $3 million per patient.

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Research & Development associate Divya Nagalati works on cell cultures in Regeneron's infectious disease labs in Tarrytown, N.Y. The firm is looking for tailored antibodies that might prove useful against the new coronavirus.

Hunt For New Coronavirus Treatments Includes Gene-Silencing And Monoclonal Antibodies

4:09pm February 19, 2020

by Joe Palca

The new coronavirus has spurred biotech labs in universities and companies to try to find new approaches to stopping the virus — from blocking its key enzymes to interfering with its genetics.

Paul McKay, a molecular immunologist at the Imperial College School of Medicine in London, checks a dish of bacteria containing genetic material from the new coronavirus. He and his team are testing a candidate vaccine.

Timetable For A Vaccine Against The New Coronavirus? Maybe This Fall

1:46pm February 12, 2020

by Joe Palca

Recent advances in biotech make scientists optimistic that they might have a vaccine that has passed basic tests of human safety and efficacy ready to go to clinics as soon as this fall.

An employee of the Boston biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks runs a gene sequencing machine through its paces. The company synthesizes thousands of genes a month, which are then inserted into cells that become mini factories of useful products.

As Made-To-Order DNA Gets Cheaper, Keeping It Out Of The Wrong Hands Gets Harder

1:30pm September 24, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Labs are churning out more and more synthetic DNA for scientists who want to use it to reprogram cells. Some say the technology has outpaced government safety guidelines put in place a decade ago.

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A technician works in a lab at GeseDNA Technology in Beijing. To counter China, the U.S. plans to impose new export restrictions on "emerging and foundational technology" that researchers say could affect the way they share genetic materials with internat

Stopping Key Tech Exports To China Could Backfire, Researchers And Firms Say

12:27pm May 14, 2019

by Emily Feng

Some tech firms and researchers say plans to impose export restrictions on "emerging and foundational technology" would make it hard to thwart cyber threats and to cooperate globally in science.

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According to the law in most states, health care providers own patients' medical records. But federal privacy law governs how that information can be used. And whether or not you can profit from your own medical data is murky.

If Your Medical Information Becomes A Moneymaker, Could You Get A Cut?

6:49pm October 15, 2018

by Richard Harris

Sometimes discoveries derived from patients' medical data become the foundation of new profit-making companies. A fledgling industry wants to help patients get a cut of the cash.

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