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CGT are composed of a diverse group of medicinal products. Cell therapies (including ex vivo gene therapies) involve the transfer of cells with a relevant function into the patient. Cells can have different origins, i.e., human (autologous or allogeneic), different differentiation stages, i.e., stem cells or differentiated cells, and can be genetically modified to exert the intended therapeutic effect. In genetically modified cell therapy, a functional transgene is transfected into cells ex vivo using viral (for example, lentiviruses) or nonviral (e.g., electroporation) vectors. Next, the modified cells are administered to the patient where the transgene will promote a therapeutic effect. Examples of these therapies include chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and genetically modified human stem cells (HSCs).


This article highlights the importance of measuring potency for cell and gene therapies.

You really can’t call a raven a birdbrain, because they and other corvids (the avian family they belong to) are actually pretty smart. New research published in Scientific Reports suggests that, at just four months old, these birds can compete as well as adults chimpanzees and orangutans in certain cognitive tasks.

The work focused on eight hand-raised ravens. They were tested at the age of four, eight, 12, and 16 months using the Primate Cognition Test Battery (PCTB), a standardized test for assessing animal cognition. The researchers tested if the birds exhibited spatial memory, understood numbers and addition, and if they could learn from and communicate with their handlers. They even looked at object permanence, which is the ability to know that an object still exists even if it’s out of sight.

The researchers found that the ravens’ cognitive skills did not change during the test period, suggesting that they are already quite cognitively capable long before they become adults. At four months, ravens start to gain independence from their parents but it takes years for them to reach sexual maturity.

The merging of two neutron stars emits both light and gravitational waves at the same time, so if gravity and light have the same speed, they should be detected on Earth at the same time. Given the distance of the galaxy that housed these two neutron stars, we know that the two types of waves had traveled for about 130 million years and arrived within two seconds of one another.

So, that’s the answer. Gravity and light travel at the same speed, determined by a precise measurement. It validates Einstein once again, and it hints at something profound about the nature of space. Scientists hope one day to fully understand why these two very different phenomena have identical speeds.

China has recently unveiled its third, and most advanced aircraft carrier, the “Fujian.” But how does it stack up against American aircraft carriers?

China recently hit the headlines with the launch of its third aircraft carrier.

The “Fujian” is China’s most advanced aircraft carrier to date. But how does it stack up against the carriers of the U.S.?

In June 2022, China reportedly launched its third and supposedly most advanced aircraft carrier. Domestically made, this ship, called the “Fujian,” makes China the 4th most potent naval power by its number of aircraft carriers.


AvigatorPhotographer/iStock.