STAT+: The quest for psychedelics in the Amazon would push a Harvard botanist to his limits
The Aztecs called it teonanácatl, or “flesh of the Gods.” Some who ate the intoxicating…
Category: In the Lab
Small study adds to growing hope CAR-T cell therapy could revolutionize autoimmune disease treatment
People with autoimmune disorders don’t usually get to talk about a cure. There’s symptom management,…
STAT+: Scientists take a (small) step toward universal antivenom
Antivenom, like Mexican Coke or grandma’s cookies, is still made the old-fashioned way. In antivenom’s…
NIH study of ME/CFS points to immune dysfunction and brain abnormalities at core of long-dismissed disease
Alison Sbrana was in the belly of an opera when her life changed. Down in…
Watch: What is in utero gene editing?
Recently approved gene therapies offer patients one-time, potentially curative treatments for genetic diseases such as…
Meet the fetal surgeon forging CRISPR’s next frontier: curing diseases in the womb
SAN FRANCISCO — Outside, the August sun wasn’t yet visible through the thick folds of…
‘All of Us’ reports half of the genomes it has sequenced are from non-Europeans
Six years ago, the National Institutes of Health placed its biggest ever bet on precision…
Niacin has long been a public health darling. But an excess could be bad for the heart, study suggests
Niacin, or vitamin B3, has long been a U.S. public health darling to the point…
STAT+: Leading MD Anderson oncologist disputes junior scientist’s claims in lawsuit over research credit
Prominent immunologist and oncologist Padmanee Sharma defended herself in court on Friday against a lawsuit…
STAT+: For unlucky mountaineers, tundra explorers and the unhoused, a new drug could avert the ravages of frostbite
Two days after his right hand froze, Hart Bezner realized for the first time that…
Smoking impairs immune response, even after quitting, new study says
Public health messages have told us for decades that if you smoke, you should quit….
Stem cell study offers clue to South Asians’ increased risk of cardiovascular disease
A growing body of data show that South Asians are at greater risk of developing…
STAT+: A flurry of research misconduct cases has universities scrambling to protect themselves
There was a time when an allegation of data mishandling, scientific misconduct, or just a…
STAT+: A junior scientist. A prominent oncologist. Now, a clash at MD Anderson over who gets research credit
Three years ago, Jamie Lin, an early-career nephrologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, made findings…
STAT+: A gene therapy designed to heal skin wounds helped preserve a boy’s vision
In the clinical trial, the gene therapy seemed to be helping the boy’s skin wounds…
STAT+: Mystery of allergic memory gets closer to answer: a rare group of B cells
Maria Curotto de Lafaille’s lab was trying to make human plasma cells in a dish….
Clues from mice could help explain why women face a higher risk of autoimmune disorders
Researchers have long known that women are more likely to develop autoimmune disorders than men,…
STAT+: Can Wegovy treat depression as well as obesity? New research looks to GLP-1 drugs for mental illnesses
Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy — already game changers for diabetes and obesity — are…
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Scientists document first-ever transmitted Alzheimer’s cases, tied to no-longer-used medical procedure
LONDON — There was something odd about these Alzheimer’s cases. Part of it was the…
STAT+: From a small town in Wales, a scientific sleuth has shaken Dana-Farber — and elevated the issue of research integrity
PONTYPRIDD, Wales — The blog post that has shaken the leadership of Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer…
Two genomics powerhouses team up to expand infectious disease surveillance
LONDON — Two research centers that have been at the forefront of following the evolution…
Dana-Farber expands studies to be retracted to 6, plus 31 to be corrected over mishandled data
A review of alleged data manipulation in studies involving four top scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer…
New tool for tracing blood cells’ ancestry might one day help predict disease risk
The human blood system is in a constant state of turnover. First-line immune defenders, like…
STAT+: Dana-Farber cancer researchers moving to retract one paper, correct others in broad investigation of manipulated data
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s leading cancer research and treatment centers,…
A new, non-invasive test could help predict the quality of embryo used for IVF
Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine say a new method…
STAT+: Hair loss is one of the most hated chemotherapy side effects. A new biotech hopes to prevent it
The chemotherapy Christine Ko was prescribed for her breast cancer is pretty much a guarantee…
Allen Institute CEO Rui Costa on mapping the brain and paying early-career scientists decent salaries
Mapping the billions of cells that make up the brain is a task mammoth enough…
NIH panel calls for fewer, better-paid postdocs in bid to halt loss of scientists to industry
A National Institutes of Health working group on Friday recommended a sizable increase in salaries…
STAT+: Could sickle cell someday be treated not with CRISPR, but with a pill?
Two gene therapies were approved for sickle cell disease last week, but for many researchers…
STAT+: CAR-T, recently used in a lupus patient, helps other autoimmune patients, too, in small study
SAN DIEGO — When the first lupus patient received CAR-T therapy, researchers watched in amazement as…
STAT+: New proposals for scientific misconduct investigations worry some research universities
Research universities are voicing concerns over some proposed changes to the process for reviewing scientific…
In pigs, researchers show ultrasound could be used for 3D printing inside the body
Imagine getting surgery without ever being cut open. Researchers at Duke University and Harvard Medical…
‘Last roll of the dice’ for a near-term HIV vaccine fails
A study billed as the last chance to develop an HIV vaccine this decade has…
STAT+: Using AI, scientists create blood test that measures organ aging and predicts disease risk
In today’s mostly plague- and famine-free world, if you can avoid more modern scourges like…
STAT+: How sickle cell became the first disease treated by CRISPR
Nearly a decade ago, consultants delivered to Rodger Novak a kind of Sears catalog of…
With latest tranche, U.K. Biobank has genome sequences from 500,000 people available for research
LONDON — Data from half a million people’s whole genome sequences are now available to…
What’s behind the urge to scratch that itch? Harvard researchers have a theory
That itchy feeling isn’t just in your head, in some cases it might actually be…
STAT+: Life scientists’ flight to biotech labs stalls important academic research
Step inside Natasha Sheybani’s office at the University of Virginia, where she runs a bioengineering…
One-quarter of Americans have little to no confidence in scientists to act in public’s best interests, per report
America’s trust in scientists and positive views of science has continued to decline, according to…
STAT+: Former MIT biologist, who lost positions after engaging in a prohibited sexual relationship, accepts new science position in Prague
Former MIT and Whitehead Institute star biologist David Sabatini, who lost his positions after he…
In experiment, electrical stimulation of the spinal cord helps a patient with Parkinson’s to walk
An experimental treatment that delivers an electrical current to the spinal cord appeared to notably…
Rats have an imagination, too, researchers show with brain implants
Our minds have a weird and wondrous way of transporting us to other places and…
STAT+: Could kidney transplant patients be spared a lifetime of immunosuppressants?
Kidney transplants are the most common organ transplant procedure in the U.S., with 25,000 taking…
STAT+: New insights into how tumor cells hijack brain plasticity to drive cancer
The idea that cancer can hijack brain plasticity — subverting supple connections in the healthy…
The scientist studying how fugitive fetal cells may affect maternal health
Chimeras — fantastical creatures composed of different animal parts — have appeared across cultures representing…
After Gaza tweet, firing of life sciences journal editor sparks freedom of speech concerns
Pioneering life sciences journal eLife finds itself at the center of a white-hot furor after…
Giant sloths and woolly mammoths: Mining past creatures’ DNA for future antibiotics
PHILADELPHIA — Cesar de la Fuente believes the next breakthrough antibiotic might come from animals…
STAT+: A controversial new study examines traditional Chinese medicine’s potential cardiac benefits
A traditional Chinese medicine compound used for cardiac benefits might help reduce the incidence of…
Maternal Covid-19 vaccination offers infants immunity for up to 6 months
The risks of severe neonatal morbidity, neonatal death, and admission to the neonatal intensive care…
Michael J. Fox on how far Parkinson’s research has come: “We don’t want to be celebrated. We want to get things done.”
When Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 29, his clearest symptom…