“Science hasn’t yet found a way to make complex animals like dogs live forever, so the next best thing we can do is find a way to maintain health for as long as possible during the aging process,” said Church.
And the goal was for this to hit a market and use the income to pay for human trials lasting 10 years.
Combination gene therapy developed at Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School treats four age-related conditions.
The restrictions have also brought unique challenges to scientists. Some have suspended their usual research to study the coronavirus. Others have had their work or personal lives disrupted by lab closures, travel restrictions or problems sourcing equipment and reagents from suppliers in China.
In a Nature reader poll, more than 600 of you told us that the coronavirus had affected you, your colleagues and your research. These are some of your stories.
From laboratory closures to equipment shortages, researchers worldwide tell Nature how they have been affected by the epidemic. ‘No one is allowed out’: readers tell Nature about their experiences.
Circa 2011
Most bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola.
Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.
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In addition, gene-editing technologies continue to advance in precision and ease of use, allowing families to treat and ultimately cure hundreds of inheritable genetic diseases.
This metatrend is driven by the convergence of: various biotechnologies (CRISPR, Gene Therapy), genome sequencing, and artificial intelligence.
Gene editing holds promise for the treatment of cancers that are driven by well-characterised molecular alterations. A study now provides a proof of concept for the feasibility of in vivo gene editing to correct TERT mutations in glioblastoma, providing a platform for the direct manipulation of genetic alterations to reduce tumour growth.