Daniel MacArthur set out to build a massive library of human — the biggest ever. The 60,706 raw sequences, collected from colleagues all over the globe, took up a petabyte of memory. It was the kind of flashy, blockbuster project that would secure MacArthur a coveted spot in one of science’s top three journals, launching his new lab at the Broad Institute into the scientific spotlight. But before all that happened, he did something that counted as an act of radicalism in the world of biology: He put it on the internet.Posting scientific papers online before peer review—in so-called preprint...…Daniel MacArthur set out to build a massive library of human — the biggest ever. The 60,706 raw sequences, collected from colleagues all over the globe, took up a petabyte of memory. It was the kind of flashy, blockbuster project that would secure MacArthur a coveted spot in one of science’s top three journals, launching his new lab at the Broad Institute into the scientific spotlight. But before all that happened, he did something that counted as an act of radicalism in the world of biology: He put it on the internet.Posting scientific papers online before peer review—in so-called preprint...WW…

restless. It was late fall of 2017. The year was winding down, and so was his MD/PhD program at Columbia. Trying to figure out what was next in his life, he’d taken to long walks in the leaf-strewn West Village. One night as he paced up Hudson Street, his stomach filled with La Colombe coffee and his mind with papers, an idea began to bubble through the caffeine brume inside his brain.Crispr, for all its DNA-snipping precision, has always been . But if you want to replace a faulty gene with a healthy one, .In addition to programming a piece of guide RNA to tell Crispr where to cut, you have...…restless. It was late fall of 2017. The year was winding down, and so was his MD/PhD program at Columbia. Trying to figure out what was next in his life, he’d taken to long walks in the leaf-strewn West Village. One night as he paced up Hudson Street, his stomach filled with La Colombe coffee and his mind with papers, an idea began to bubble through the caffeine brume inside his brain.Crispr, for all its DNA-snipping precision, has always been . But if you want to replace a faulty gene with a healthy one, .In addition to programming a piece of guide RNA to tell Crispr where to cut, you have...WW…

Iowa governor Kim Reynolds came to her constituents with some surprising news. Along with a series of on business operations and social gatherings, she was, for the first time, issuing a state-wide mask mandate. “No one wants to do this. I don’t want to do this,” Reynolds said during . Yes, Iowans were well aware. That was not the surprising part.Here's all the WIRED coverage in one place, from how to keep your children entertained to how this outbreak is affecting the economy. For much of the pandemic, Reynolds, a Republican, has insisted that the largely rural state could contain the...…Iowa governor Kim Reynolds came to her constituents with some surprising news. Along with a series of on business operations and social gatherings, she was, for the first time, issuing a state-wide mask mandate. “No one wants to do this. I don’t want to do this,” Reynolds said during . Yes, Iowans were well aware. That was not the surprising part.Here's all the WIRED coverage in one place, from how to keep your children entertained to how this outbreak is affecting the economy. For much of the pandemic, Reynolds, a Republican, has insisted that the largely rural state could contain the...WW…

when representatives from the drug company Pfizer that its Covid-19 vaccine appears to be more than 90 percent effective, , White House officials () , and sighs of relief went up all around the internet. “Dear World. We have a vaccine! Best news since January 10,” Florian Krammer, a virologist and vaccinologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (who also happens to be in the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine trial).Here's all the WIRED coverage in one place, from how to keep your children entertained to how this outbreak is affecting the economy. But having a press release from a...…when representatives from the drug company Pfizer that its Covid-19 vaccine appears to be more than 90 percent effective, , White House officials () , and sighs of relief went up all around the internet. “Dear World. We have a vaccine! Best news since January 10,” Florian Krammer, a virologist and vaccinologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (who also happens to be in the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine trial).Here's all the WIRED coverage in one place, from how to keep your children entertained to how this outbreak is affecting the economy. But having a press release from a...WW…

surely seen : A dozen humanoid forms encased in full-body, white nylon suits are working on scaffolding at the base of a saran-wrapped tree by the red glow of headlamps, one of them raising a plexiglass vacuum tube between its blue-gloved hands in triumph. Inside, 85 wasps, each the size of a human thumb, are piled against one another in cold-induced slumber. No, these weren’t scenes from the next great biothreat thriller. Over the weekend, Washington State Department of Agriculture workers took out the first nest found in the United States.Come to think of it, it was sort of a biothreat...…surely seen : A dozen humanoid forms encased in full-body, white nylon suits are working on scaffolding at the base of a saran-wrapped tree by the red glow of headlamps, one of them raising a plexiglass vacuum tube between its blue-gloved hands in triumph. Inside, 85 wasps, each the size of a human thumb, are piled against one another in cold-induced slumber. No, these weren’t scenes from the next great biothreat thriller. Over the weekend, Washington State Department of Agriculture workers took out the first nest found in the United States.Come to think of it, it was sort of a biothreat...WW…

days of gene editing, biologists had a molecular tool kit that was somewhat akin to a printing press. Which is to say, altering DNA was a messy, labor-intensive process of loading genes onto viruses bound for target cells. It involved more than a fair amount of finger-crossing. Today, scientists have the genetic equivalent of Microsoft Word, and they are beginning to edit DNA almost as easily as software engineers modify code. The precipitating event? Call it the Great Crispr Quake of 2012.If you’re asking “What’s Crispr?” the short answer is that it’s a revolutionary new class of molecular...…days of gene editing, biologists had a molecular tool kit that was somewhat akin to a printing press. Which is to say, altering DNA was a messy, labor-intensive process of loading genes onto viruses bound for target cells. It involved more than a fair amount of finger-crossing. Today, scientists have the genetic equivalent of Microsoft Word, and they are beginning to edit DNA almost as easily as software engineers modify code. The precipitating event? Call it the Great Crispr Quake of 2012.If you’re asking “What’s Crispr?” the short answer is that it’s a revolutionary new class of molecular...WW…

curing inherited disease has made headlines, including at WIRED, for years. (, , , and .) Finally, at least for one family, the is turning out to deliver more hope than hype. A year after 34-year-old Victoria Gray received an infusion of billions of Crispr’d cells, last week that those cells were still alive and alleviating the complications of her sickle cell disease. Researchers say it’s still too soon to call it a cure. But as the first person with a genetic disorder to be successfully treated with Crispr in the US, it’s a huge milestone. And with dozens more clinical trials currently in...…curing inherited disease has made headlines, including at WIRED, for years. (, , , and .) Finally, at least for one family, the is turning out to deliver more hope than hype. A year after 34-year-old Victoria Gray received an infusion of billions of Crispr’d cells, last week that those cells were still alive and alleviating the complications of her sickle cell disease. Researchers say it’s still too soon to call it a cure. But as the first person with a genetic disorder to be successfully treated with Crispr in the US, it’s a huge milestone. And with dozens more clinical trials currently in...WW…

since was killed by Minneapolis police officers outside a grocery store at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, the intersection has remained closed to traffic—filled instead with flowers, memorial murals, and thousands of daily visitors who come to pay their respects. Except for the masks when you’re inside that now-sacred space, it’s hard to remember there’s going on. But in the shadow of the Sabathani Community Center a few blocks to the west, where a transformation of another kind has been underway, it’s impossible to forget.Here's all the WIRED coverage in one place, from how to keep your...…since was killed by Minneapolis police officers outside a grocery store at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, the intersection has remained closed to traffic—filled instead with flowers, memorial murals, and thousands of daily visitors who come to pay their respects. Except for the masks when you’re inside that now-sacred space, it’s hard to remember there’s going on. But in the shadow of the Sabathani Community Center a few blocks to the west, where a transformation of another kind has been underway, it’s impossible to forget.Here's all the WIRED coverage in one place, from how to keep your...WW…

2:11 pm local time, New Zealand’s White Island volcano , blasting a superheated plume of ash, sulfur gas, and steam 12,000 feet in the air and blanketing the crater’s floor in powdered rock and debris. At the time, dozens of people were visiting the popular tourist destination, also known by its Maori name, Whakaari. Officials Tuesday afternoon that the death toll has now risen to six, with 30 injured and eight more missing and presumed dead.“The scale of this tragedy is devastating,” New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden said Tuesday during . Her government is already launching...…2:11 pm local time, New Zealand’s White Island volcano , blasting a superheated plume of ash, sulfur gas, and steam 12,000 feet in the air and blanketing the crater’s floor in powdered rock and debris. At the time, dozens of people were visiting the popular tourist destination, also known by its Maori name, Whakaari. Officials Tuesday afternoon that the death toll has now risen to six, with 30 injured and eight more missing and presumed dead.“The scale of this tragedy is devastating,” New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden said Tuesday during . Her government is already launching...WW…

than three months since emerged in China, causing fever, coughing, and, in severe cases, pneumonia. Since then, the disease has , infecting nearly 93,000 people and killing more than 3,000.What makes the coronavirus scary enough to cause a worldwide and lead countries to and isn’t that it’s super deadly. So far, the World Health Organization Covid-19’s fatality rate to be about 3.4 percent globally, which is still lower than other recent coronavirus outbreaks, including SARS and MERS. (That said, it appears to be , which has a case fatality rate of around 0.1 percent.) And it’s . Still,...…than three months since emerged in China, causing fever, coughing, and, in severe cases, pneumonia. Since then, the disease has , infecting nearly 93,000 people and killing more than 3,000.What makes the coronavirus scary enough to cause a worldwide and lead countries to and isn’t that it’s super deadly. So far, the World Health Organization Covid-19’s fatality rate to be about 3.4 percent globally, which is still lower than other recent coronavirus outbreaks, including SARS and MERS. (That said, it appears to be , which has a case fatality rate of around 0.1 percent.) And it’s . Still,...WW…