biotechnology

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After Settlement Over Henrietta Lacks' Cells, a New Complaint

Family of Black woman whose cells advanced science file another suit, now against Ultragenyx

(Newser) - Just over a week after Henrietta Lacks' descendants settled a lawsuit against a biotech company they accused of unjustly profiting off her cells for generations, the family's attorneys have filed another claim against a different corporation. The new lawsuit, which targets California-based biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx, was filed Thursday in...

Henrietta Lacks' Family Finally Gets Its Due

Family of Black woman whose cells advanced medical science reaches settlement, 70 years later

(Newser) - More than 70 years after doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Henrietta Lacks' cervical cells without her knowledge, the AP reports that a lawyer for her descendants said they've reached a settlement with a biotechnology company they sued in 2021, accusing its leaders of reaping billions of dollars from...

Estate of Woman With 'Immortal' Cells Sues Biotech Firm

Lawsuit says cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks without her consent 70 years ago

(Newser) - The estate of Henrietta Lacks sued a biotechnology company on Monday, accusing it of selling cells that doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took from the Black woman in 1951 without her knowledge or consent as part of "a racially unjust medical system." The estate’s federal lawsuit says...

Big Pharma Has Bad News for Crabs
Big Pharma Has
Bad News for Crabs
May 31, 2020 3:20 PM CDT

Big Pharma Has Bad News for Crabs

Looks like a synthetic substitute to crab blood won't be officially adopted after all

(Newser) - Big Pharma is out for blood—horseshoe crabs' blood, that is—and that's not about to change. An effort to promote a synthetic substitute to crab blood in medical safety tests fell short Friday when a powerful US group refused to fully back the switch, Reuters reports. The group,...

US Nobelist Knew About Gene-Edited Babies

Craig Mello was on board of He Jiankui's biotech company

(Newser) - Long before the claim of the world's first gene-edited babies became public , Chinese researcher He Jiankui shared the news with a US Nobel laureate who objected to the experiment yet remained an adviser to He's biotech company. The revelation that another prominent scientist knew of the work, which...

'Biohacker' CEO Found Dead in Flotation Tank

Aaron Traywick injected himself with experimental treatment

(Newser) - A "biohacker" CEO who sought to cure diseases and prolong lives with experimental gene therapies has died at just 28. Aaron Traywick, CEO of Ascendance Biomedical, was found dead Sunday in a flotation tank in a Washington, DC, spa room, Live Science reports. Police say they are investigating the...

US Mosquitoes Will Soon Have a New Pest: Mosquitoes

Biotech startup will release infected males in 20 states, DC to mate with females in the wild

(Newser) - A biotech startup has just gotten approval from the FDA to unleash a new weapon against potentially dangerous mosquitoes. The weapon? Mosquitoes. As Gizmodo explains, a company out of Kentucky called MosquitoMate will sell male mosquitoes infected with a bacterium to businesses and homeowners in 20 states still to be...

Morning Person or Night Owl? Your Genes May Decide

Biology may be influencing if you stay up all night or wake up with the sun

(Newser) - You may be naturally disposed toward being a morning person or a night owl—and scientists are now saying that may have a true biological basis that's hard to fight, the Guardian reports. Per a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications , researchers under the direction of 23andMe lead scientist...

Environmentalists Fear New Biotech Corn

Dow's 'Enlist' resists powerful herbicide

(Newser) - Debate is raging over a new biotech corn engineered by Dow Chemical. The corn, called "Enlist," is intended to solve farmers' struggle against tough weeds; that's because it's resistant to a powerful herbicide, also made by Dow. But environmentalists fear that wind, heat, and humidity would...

We Should Pay for Drugs Only If They Work

Biotech exec Samuel Waksal argues for a pay-for-results system

(Newser) - Medical costs, and especially drug costs, are scandalously high in the US, but just capping them isn't the answer, biotech exec Samuel Waksal writes in the New York Times . "Individuals and insurance companies should be willing to pay—and pay a lot—for drugs when they work,"...

Genetically Engineered Crops Cover 10% of Farmland

Up from, well, zero about 15 years ago

(Newser) - The amount of land being used to grow genetically modified crops ballooned 10% last year, as countries like Brazil and Argentina got in on the game. A full 10% of the world’s farmland now grows these so-called “biotech crops,” which were essentially non-existent 15 years ago, USA ...

Farmers Souring on Genetically-Modified Seeds
 Farmers Sour on 
 Genetically Modified Seeds
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 9, 2010 9:07 AM CDT

Farmers Sour on Genetically Modified Seeds

But 86% of America's farm acres are planted with biotech crops

(Newser) - Genetically-modified crops are pervasive—last year 86% of America's farm acres were planted with biotech crops—but some farmers are beginning to sour on the technology. They say that the advantages are not worth the soaring prices charged by seed giants like Monsanto: The cost of corn seed jumped 32%...

Rights to Human Gene Patents Go on Trial

Do patents on breast, ovarian cancer genes, retard new research?

(Newser) - A Manhattan judge yesterday heard arguments on whether human genes should be covered by patents. A company called Myriad Genetics is being sued over its patents on two genes linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer—BRCA1 and BRCA2. The suit alleges that women's health is harmed...

Rich May Evolve Into Own Species

Wealthy winning huge edge with longer life, access to biotechnology

(Newser) - The super wealthy will have such access to high levels of health care, biotechnology and robotics that they could develop into their own species of being, argues a Silicon Valley  futurist. The rich will be able to grow their own organs and manipulate genetics for superior abilities and freedom from...

Drug Makers' Big Spending Pays Off on Hill

Biologics debate shows how lobbyists shape health debate

(Newser) - Drugmakers could get quite a gift from the health care reform bill. Senate and House amendments passed this summer give the makers of biologics—next-generation wonder drugs derived from living matter—12 years of exclusivity on their hyperexpensive products. That’s 7 more years than normal drugs get, and critics...

Roche Gets Genentech in $46.8B Biotech Deal

(Newser) - Swiss drug giant Roche has succeeded in its quest to own biotech firm Genentech outright, and will purchase the 44% of shares it does not already own for $95 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reports today. The $46.8 billion deal comes after months of haggling, wherein Roche offered as...

New Robotic Arm Takes Cues From Brain
New Robotic Arm Takes Cues From Brain
Feb 11, 2009 10:50 AM CST

New Robotic Arm Takes Cues From Brain

Improvements in field have given amputees dexterity, independence

(Newser) - Artificial limbs have come a long way from the wooden legs and plastic arms of old: Today's prosthetics take messages directly from the brain. Their performance far exceeds that of the previous generation of devices, which required concentrated effort to make ungainly motions. "You think, and then your muscles...

FDA Approves Drug Made From Gene-Tweaked Goats

Landmark decision could signal start of large-scale 'pharming' for drugs

(Newser) - An FDA decision to approve a drug made from genetically engineered goats is being called a milestone decision likely to lead to many more "pharm animals," the Boston Globe reports. Biotech firm GTC says the milk from a single genetically modified goat can produce as much of the...

FDA OKs Pioneering Stem Cell Trial
FDA OKs Pioneering
Stem Cell Trial
Jan 23, 2009 3:00 AM CST

FDA OKs Pioneering Stem Cell Trial

First-ever test of therapy on spinal cord injuries hailed as milestone

(Newser) - The FDA has approved the world's first-ever human trial of a medical treatment using embryonic stem cells, the New York Times reports. The move is being hailed as a watershed moment for medical research. Biotech company Geron plans to inject the cells—which can turn into any type of cell...

Biotech Boom Finally Fizzles
 Biotech Boom Finally Fizzles 
Glossies
Jan 21, 2009 7:00 AM CST

Biotech Boom Finally Fizzles

Riskiest sector hit by downturn

(Newser) - In the bullish market, biotechnology was flush with investment, even though one drug might take many as 15 years and as much as a billion dollars to produce—but those days are over for the riskiest technology sector. Portfolio reports that 45% of publicly traded biotech companies will run out...

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