STAT+: The Broad Institute’s new leader wants to ‘double down’ on biology
It has been an action-packed pandemic for the Broad Institute, the biomedical research center in…
Category: In the Lab
CRISPR cures progeria in mice, raising hope for one-time therapy for a disease that causes rapid aging
Biologists tend not to discuss experimental results on a handful of cells and a single…
STAT+: In a stem cell experiment that seemingly failed, scientists see a possible way to prevent a devastating disease
The tiny mouse embryos were off to a promising start, many of them progressing from…
STAT+: ‘Why would we ever go back?’: Covid-driven shift to remote cancer clinical trials will likely outlast the pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has presented an extreme challenge for cancer clinical trials, with many shutting…
Elevated stress hormone levels could reawaken dormant cancer cells, study finds
The recurrence of cancer months or even years after successful treatment is an all too…
STAT+: Genetic reprogramming rejuvenates nerve cells and restores vision in mice
For years now, biologists have been practicing a kind of time travel. You can take…
STAT+: New research underscores the link between multiple sclerosis and the gut microbiome
Researchers have uncovered more evidence that there is a link between a person’s gut microbiome,…
STAT+: Cancer vaccine cocktail boosts immune response after melanoma surgery, research shows
Immunotherapies have transformed cancer care by enlisting the body’s own immune system to fight tumors…
Brainiacs, not birdbrains: Crows possess higher intelligence long thought a primarily human attribute
Whether crows, ravens, and other “corvids” are making multipart tools like hooked sticks to reach…
STAT Plus: In research on pigs, scientists test a new way to boost recovery after a heart attack
Scientists have developed a new strategy that uses exosomes — tiny, RNA-loaded packets that cells…
Slime, tornadoes, and static electricity: How the host of ‘Emily’s Wonder Lab’ wants to teach kids about science
When Emily Calandrelli started sketching out plans for her new Netflix science show, she knew…
Experimental drug for ALS, dreamed up in a dorm room, offers patients glimmer of hope
An experimental drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, slowed the neurological decline…
STAT Plus: In research on middle-aged mice, scientists find a metabolite that leads to a longer, healthier life
The field of aging research is increasingly asking not just how people can live longer,…
NIH awards grant to EcoHealth Alliance, months after uproar over political interference
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant to EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit organization…
Scientists create a synthetic lining for the intestine to make delivering drugs easier
Scientists have created a synthetic small intestinal lining designed to treat certain digestive diseases or…
New research tabs a natural byproduct of metabolism as a potent trigger of cancer spread
Aging is the biggest risk factor for cancer: The older we get, the more likely…
Genomic sequencing to screen apparently healthy newborns raises more false alarms than routine blood tests, study finds
With advanced technology, clinicians can now sequence the genomes of newborn babies, seeking to turn…
Virtual Event: CRISPR’s forward march
Editor’s note: A livestream of this virtual event will be posted above at 1 p.m….
STAT Plus: A test you can breathe in: Scientists are developing synthetic biosensors to monitor lung disease
Imagine inhaling a sensor that could monitor lung disease patients’ response to therapy, emitting a…
STAT Plus: ‘Inactive’ drug ingredients are not always inactive, study finds
What’s in that pill you just swallowed? The label on the bottle lists the drug’s…
Civil War vaccination kits, discovered in a drawer, yield genetic clues to how smallpox was defeated
As the world anxiously pins its hopes on vaccines to halt the coronavirus pandemic, scientists…
Scientists create a speedy finger-prick test to scan for radiation exposure in mice
Researchers have developed a simple finger-prick test that scans a single drop of blood to…
Connecting donated human lungs to pigs repaired damage to the organs, scientists report
For people who need a lung transplant, the wait is often prolonged by the frustrating…
STAT Plus: How does exercise benefit the aging brain? Transfusing blood from active mice into sedentary ones suggests an answer
Exercise has been shown to slow cognitive decline in aging, but scientists haven’t known why….
Gene-editing discovery could point the way toward a ‘holy grail’: cures for mitochondrial diseases
Biologist David Liu was in the middle of his morning commute to the Broad Institute…
About the analysis of Covid-19 clinical trials
The analysis for this story was based on data from clinicaltrials.gov, a public database that…
Data show panic and disorganization dominate the study of Covid-19 drugs
In a gigantic feat of scientific ambition, researchers have designed a staggering 1,200 clinical trials…
Experimental HIV drug seems effective at a twice-a-year dose, study finds
An experimental new HIV treatment could, with just one dose, reduce the amount of virus…
In its first tough test, CRISPR base editing slashes cholesterol levels in monkeys
A form of CRISPR widely expected to be safer and possibly more effective that the…
STAT Plus: Engineering a better immunotherapy to outwit cancer — and launch a biotech
Tweaking an immune cell called interleukin-18 can overcome tumors that lure it into binding with…
STAT Plus: A preliminary new method could restore the brain cells Parkinson’s disease patients lost
Researchers developed a new method for transforming brain cells that can completely eliminate Parkinson’s disease…
STAT Plus: New findings about little-studied cellular compartments could help make chemo more effective
Getting the right drug to the right place at the right time has been the…
STAT Plus: Ramping up pressure on Elsevier, University of California strikes landmark research access deal with publisher of Nature journals
The University of California has reached a landmark deal with the world’s second largest academic…
Watch: How some cells serve as unlikely heroes to defend the brain from viral invaders
Scientists have discovered the important role of microglia cells in protecting a mouse brain’s central…
A new embryo-like model could help scientists study the ‘black box’ of early human development
Researchers have developed the first-ever embryo-like model from human embryonic stem cells, a workaround that…
Females are still routinely left out of biomedical research — and ignored in analyses of data
If you think biomedical scientists are doing a better job studying both biological sexes in…
After retractions of two Covid-19 papers, scientists ask what went wrong
With last week’s retractions of two Covid-19 papers from a pair of the world’s top…
New research offers hope for a way through the blood-brain barrier, ‘the final frontier for drug delivery’
We’ve evolved elegant protections for our brains. Gray matter deftly avoids contact with most interlopers,…
STAT Plus: Bacteria are widespread in tumors, forming distinct populations depending on the cancer type
In what outside experts called the most rigorous and comprehensive survey of bacteria in human…
STAT Plus: Scientists 3D-map the ‘little brain of the (rat) heart’
Even cardiologists might not know — or pay attention to — the intracardiac nervous system….
‘It’s something I have never seen’: How the Covid-19 virus hijacks cells
A deep dive into how the new coronavirus infects cells has found that it orchestrates…
Ethics questions swirl around historic Parkinson’s experiment
A secretive experiment revealed this week, in which neurosurgeons transplanted brain cells into a patient…
A secret experiment revealed: In a medical first, doctors treat Parkinson’s with a novel brain cell transplant
A month before the scheduled surgery, the four researchers were ready to chaperone the brain…
New research sheds light on sex imbalances in diseases like schizophrenia and lupus
There’s a clear sex bias in many diseases. Lupus, for instance, affects women nine times…
Using human brain tissue in lab dishes, researchers show herpes link to Alzheimer’s
A small 3D version of the human brain develops key features of Alzheimer’s disease when…
New CRISPR-based test for Covid-19 could be a simple, cheap at-home diagnostic, scientists say
The revolutionary genetic technique better known for its potential to cure thousands of inherited diseases…
STAT Plus: Cellular ‘backpacks’ keep immune cells in attack mode against tumors
In a study recently published in Science Advances, Samir Mitragotri’s team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute…
Covid-19 has shuttered scientific labs. It could put a generation of researchers at risk
Scientists are skilled at tackling unexpected problems that threaten the integrity of their experiments —…
STAT Plus: Researchers develop a non-invasive way to manipulate neurons to study behavior
A version of this article first ran in Morning Rounds, STAT’s newsletter offering a daily…
Mind-controlled prosthetic arm enables patients to feel the objects they grip
When electrician Rickard Normark lost his left arm after being electrocuted at work in 2011,…