×Bygene-editing trials for treating sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia are being extended to include children aged under 12 after the therapies proved successful in ongoing trials involving people aged between 12 and 35. The aim is to treat children early enough to prevent them getting lasting damage from these .“The results are superb,” says at Imperial College London, a doctor who is involved in the trials, which include patients from multiple sites across the European Union, UK and US.Now, the challenge will be making the treatment widely available, which could be an issue because...…×Bygene-editing trials for treating sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia are being extended to include children aged under 12 after the therapies proved successful in ongoing trials involving people aged between 12 and 35. The aim is to treat children early enough to prevent them getting lasting damage from these .“The results are superb,” says at Imperial College London, a doctor who is involved in the trials, which include patients from multiple sites across the European Union, UK and US.Now, the challenge will be making the treatment widely available, which could be an issue because...WW…

×By , , , , , , , , , , , andModerna’s omicron-tailored booster candidate produces eight times as many virus-neutralising antibodies against the variant as its original booster vaccineAn updated version of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine that targets the BA.1 sublineage of omicron leads to an eight-fold increase in antibody levels against the variant of concern, according to a small, preliminary .Moderna’s new booster is the first covid-19 vaccine to combine the jab that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus – which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 – with a vaccine that...…×By , , , , , , , , , , , andModerna’s omicron-tailored booster candidate produces eight times as many virus-neutralising antibodies against the variant as its original booster vaccineAn updated version of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine that targets the BA.1 sublineage of omicron leads to an eight-fold increase in antibody levels against the variant of concern, according to a small, preliminary .Moderna’s new booster is the first covid-19 vaccine to combine the jab that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus – which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 – with a vaccine that...WW…

×By , , , , , , , , , , , andModerna’s omicron-tailored booster candidate produces eight times as many virus-neutralising antibodies against the variant as its original booster vaccineAn updated version of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine that targets the BA.1 sublineage of omicron leads to an eight-fold increase in antibody levels against the variant of concern, according to a small, preliminary .Moderna’s new booster is the first covid-19 vaccine to combine the jab that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus – which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 – with a vaccine that...…×By , , , , , , , , , , , andModerna’s omicron-tailored booster candidate produces eight times as many virus-neutralising antibodies against the variant as its original booster vaccineAn updated version of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine that targets the BA.1 sublineage of omicron leads to an eight-fold increase in antibody levels against the variant of concern, according to a small, preliminary .Moderna’s new booster is the first covid-19 vaccine to combine the jab that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus – which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 – with a vaccine that...WW…

×By. Rising sea temperatures are killing corals faster than they can recover. As temperatures continue to increase, more and more of the reef will die, along with the rich variety of life and that depend on it.It is one headline-grabbing example among many. The continued rapid warming of the planet would wipe out many species, even if it were the only change happening. As it is, a sixth in Earth’s history is already under way as farms replace forests and factory ships overfish the oceans.The heating of the planet will push many struggling species over the brink. Some will just have no place...…×By. Rising sea temperatures are killing corals faster than they can recover. As temperatures continue to increase, more and more of the reef will die, along with the rich variety of life and that depend on it.It is one headline-grabbing example among many. The continued rapid warming of the planet would wipe out many species, even if it were the only change happening. As it is, a sixth in Earth’s history is already under way as farms replace forests and factory ships overfish the oceans.The heating of the planet will push many struggling species over the brink. Some will just have no place...WW…

×BySponges can live for thousands of years, grow continuously and lack an immune system, so they should be particularly prone to cancers. But sponges exposed to X-rays have survived 100 times the lethal dose for humans without tumours.“They seem to be extraordinarily resistant to radiation,” says Angelo Fortunato at Arizona State University. In fact, have the highest level of radiation resistance ever observed in any animal whose cells keep dividing throughout its lifetime – as opposed to creatures like …No commitment, cancel anytime*Offer ends 19/10/2022. *Cancel anytime within 14...…×BySponges can live for thousands of years, grow continuously and lack an immune system, so they should be particularly prone to cancers. But sponges exposed to X-rays have survived 100 times the lethal dose for humans without tumours.“They seem to be extraordinarily resistant to radiation,” says Angelo Fortunato at Arizona State University. In fact, have the highest level of radiation resistance ever observed in any animal whose cells keep dividing throughout its lifetime – as opposed to creatures like …No commitment, cancel anytime*Offer ends 19/10/2022. *Cancel anytime within 14...WW…

×By , , , , , , , , , , , andModerna’s omicron-tailored booster candidate produces eight times as many virus-neutralising antibodies against the variant as its original booster vaccineAn updated version of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine that targets the BA.1 sublineage of omicron leads to an eight-fold increase in antibody levels against the variant of concern, according to a small, preliminary .Moderna’s new booster is the first covid-19 vaccine to combine the jab that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus – which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 – with a vaccine that...…×By , , , , , , , , , , , andModerna’s omicron-tailored booster candidate produces eight times as many virus-neutralising antibodies against the variant as its original booster vaccineAn updated version of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine that targets the BA.1 sublineage of omicron leads to an eight-fold increase in antibody levels against the variant of concern, according to a small, preliminary .Moderna’s new booster is the first covid-19 vaccine to combine the jab that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus – which emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 – with a vaccine that...WW…

×Byhas been used to more than double the lifespan of mice engineered to have , also greatly improving their health.The results far surpassed expectations. Progeria affects many different organs in the body, and the team behind the work didn’t expect that correcting the mutation in a relatively low proportion of cells – 10 to 60 per cent – would have such a big effect. “We were quite amazed,” says .Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a rare condition caused when a mutation, which probably took place in the testes or ovaries of a child’s parents, results in a single DNA letter change in...…×Byhas been used to more than double the lifespan of mice engineered to have , also greatly improving their health.The results far surpassed expectations. Progeria affects many different organs in the body, and the team behind the work didn’t expect that correcting the mutation in a relatively low proportion of cells – 10 to 60 per cent – would have such a big effect. “We were quite amazed,” says .Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a rare condition caused when a mutation, which probably took place in the testes or ovaries of a child’s parents, results in a single DNA letter change in...WW…

×ByWe finally have a clearer picture of how pterosaurs – a group of extinct flying reptiles – first evolved. The creatures shared dozens of key traits with a long-extinct group of dinosaur-like reptiles that might have been skilled tree climbers, according to a new analysis.Pterosaurs evolved about 220 million years ago and for around 160 million years, until they went extinct along with . Yet figuring out which group of reptiles they evolved from has been difficult.“They appear in the fossil record with fully developed wings and all the modifications associated with flight,” says Martín...…×ByWe finally have a clearer picture of how pterosaurs – a group of extinct flying reptiles – first evolved. The creatures shared dozens of key traits with a long-extinct group of dinosaur-like reptiles that might have been skilled tree climbers, according to a new analysis.Pterosaurs evolved about 220 million years ago and for around 160 million years, until they went extinct along with . Yet figuring out which group of reptiles they evolved from has been difficult.“They appear in the fossil record with fully developed wings and all the modifications associated with flight,” says Martín...WW…

×ByAn developed by has achieved the long-sought-after goal of accurately predicting the shape of proteins from their sequence alone, a key part of understanding how the machinery of life works. In a competition, AlphaFold was able to match two-thirds of the results achieved by humans doing expensive and time-consuming lab experiments.“I was really wowed when I saw it,” says John Moult at the University of Maryland, one of the competition’s organisers. “This is the first time we’ve come close to approaching experimental usefulness, which is pretty extraordinary.”Proteins are vital for life....…×ByAn developed by has achieved the long-sought-after goal of accurately predicting the shape of proteins from their sequence alone, a key part of understanding how the machinery of life works. In a competition, AlphaFold was able to match two-thirds of the results achieved by humans doing expensive and time-consuming lab experiments.“I was really wowed when I saw it,” says John Moult at the University of Maryland, one of the competition’s organisers. “This is the first time we’ve come close to approaching experimental usefulness, which is pretty extraordinary.”Proteins are vital for life....WW…

×By“Living electrodes” made of nerve cells genetically modified to respond to light have been successfully implanted in the brains of animals. The hope is that they will provide a better and longer-lasting way to link brains with computers than conventional electrodes.“It allows our technology to be speaking the language of the nervous system, instead of electrical jolts, which is what is done now,” says Kacy Cullen at the University of Pennsylvania. “When our implanted neurons are activated, the deeper part of the brain they are connected to then becomes activated by …No commitment, cancel...…×By“Living electrodes” made of nerve cells genetically modified to respond to light have been successfully implanted in the brains of animals. The hope is that they will provide a better and longer-lasting way to link brains with computers than conventional electrodes.“It allows our technology to be speaking the language of the nervous system, instead of electrical jolts, which is what is done now,” says Kacy Cullen at the University of Pennsylvania. “When our implanted neurons are activated, the deeper part of the brain they are connected to then becomes activated by …No commitment, cancel...WW…