The gene editing system CRISPR-Cas9 can be injected into the blood and directed to the liver to treat patients with a rare condition, according to a recent study.
Why it matters: The ability to edit genes directly in a patient's body expands the list of possible diseases and conditions researchers can try to target with CRISPR-based therapies.
Large numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations and more immunocompromised people in general are fueling a global spread of a different threatening microbe: invasive fungi.
Why it matters: These infections cause more than 1.6 million deaths worldwide every year, and the microorganisms responsible for them are starting to evade the small supply of antifungal drugs.
A newfound white dwarf star 130 light-years away is the most massive and smallest ever discovered, according to a new study.
Why it matters: The star — thought to be the result of two white dwarfs smacking into one another and merging — can act as a laboratory for astronomers to learn more about how extreme objects in the universe evolve.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has invited Wally Funk — one of the women aviators who passed the Mercury astronaut tests in the 1960s — to join him and two others on the company's first crewed trip to the edge of space.
Why it matters: Funk's turn as an astronaut is years in the making, after the Mercury 13 — a group of women who mastered the same tests as NASA astronauts in the 1960s as part of a private initiative — were passed over by NASA.
Authorities in Canada, Oregon and Washington are investigating hundreds of deaths likely caused by the Pacific Northwest's worst heat wave on record, AP reports.
Nearly 500 people have died in British Columbia since Friday as a historic heat wave grips the region, Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement Wednesday.
Why it matters: The heatwave in the Pacific Northwest has shattered records and alarmed scientists. In Lytton, British Columbia the temperature soared to 121°F on Tuesday, conditions which, in North America, are usually reserved for the desert Southwest.
Virgin Orbit launched seven satellites from three different customers to space on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Virgin Orbit is entering an increasingly crowded market of launchers hoping to take advantage of the growing demand by nations and other companies to launch small satellites to orbit in the coming years.
The extreme heat that shattered records across the Pacific Northwest — and still has not abated in many areas — has no precedent in modern record-keeping, data analyses shows. This is especially the case in British Columbia, where the temperature soared to an almost unimaginable 121°F in Lytton on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Heat of this magnitude is proving to be deadly, which is consistent with findings that heat waves are typically the deadliest weather phenomena in the U.S. each year. The temperatures are also shocking some scientists.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared that China has eradicated malaria after more than 70 years of fighting the disease.
Why it matters: China is the first country in the WHO Western Pacific Region to receive a malaria-free certification in more than 30 years. It follows Australia (1981), Singapore (1982) and Brunei (1987).
In the midst of the worst heat wave in the history of the Pacific Northwest and an early start to the West's wildfire season, the Biden administration is moving to raise federal firefighters' pay while taking other steps to bolster wildfire preparedness.
Why it matters: With a severe drought gripping the West, particularly California and Arizona, Biden and other members of his administration will convene virtually with a group of western governors Wednesday to discuss the challenges that lie ahead this summer and fall.
Record-breaking Pacific Northwest heat offers a window into the global need for more air conditioning as climate change makes heat waves more extreme.
Why it matters: Extreme heat is the deadliest weather hazard in the U.S. and many other countries, and with average temperatures climbing due to climate change, the risks and severity of heat waves are escalating even faster.
