researchers

First Human Injected with Controversial Genetically Modified Genes

For the first time in history, a human has been injected with genes edited using the CRISPR-Cas9 method. [1]
The experiment took place on 28 October 2016, when a team of Chinese scientists, led by oncologist Lu You at Sichuan University in Chengdu, delivered the genetically modified (GM) cells into a patient with aggressive lung cancer as part of a clinical trial at the West China Hospital in Chengdu. [2]
To protect the patient’s privacy, the details of the trial have not been released; but Lu said the trial “went smoothly.”

A Scientific First: Lab-Grown Eggs Produce Healthy Mice

The birth of baby mice made from eggs grown in a lab has sparked an ethical debate over whether the technique should ever be offered for humans by fertility clinics.
The experiment is a step up (or down, depending on how you look at it) from creating human organs from stem cells, which scientists at the University of Edinburgh successfully did for the first time in 2014.

DEA Decides NOT to Ban Kratom … For Now

On October 12, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said in a notice to be published in the Federal Register that it has formally withdrawn plans to ban kratom, an herb used by many as a natural medicine.
In August, the DEA outlined plans to classify mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, two active compounds in kratom, as Schedule I substances, alongside heroin, LSD, and (inexplicably) marijuana.

How the Sugar Industry Made Everyone Hate Fat – Fraudulently

Newly released historical documents reveal that the sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960’s to downplay the link between sugar consumption and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the cause, instead. [1]
JAMA Internal Medicine published an analysis of the internal sugar industry documents, which were uncovered by a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), on September 12.