The Obtain: gene-editing HIV, and tips on how to destroy PFAS

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The information: The gene-editing know-how CRISPR has been used to alter the genes of human infants, to switch animals, and to deal with individuals with sickle-cell illness. Now scientists are trying a brand new trick: utilizing CRISPR to completely treatment individuals of HIV. 

How they did it: A biotechnology firm referred to as Excision BioTherapeutics says it added the gene-editing device to the our bodies of three individuals residing with HIV and commanded it to chop, and destroy, the virus wherever it’s hiding.

What it means: The early-stage examine is a probing step towards the corporate’s eventual purpose of curing HIV an infection with a single intravenous dose of a gene-editing drug. Nevertheless, as a result of the docs withheld early information in regards to the therapy’s results, outdoors specialists have been left guessing whether or not it labored. Learn the total story.

—Antonio Regalado

The race to destroy PFAS, the perpetually chemical compounds 

What do firefighting foams, mountain climbing boots, raincoats, nonstick frying pans, lipstick, and even ink have in frequent? They will all include PFAS, a household of chemical compounds which have been utilized in numerous purposes for many years. 

The compounds are ubiquitous in consuming water and soil, even migrating to Arctic sea ice. PFAS are referred to as perpetually chemical compounds as a result of as soon as current within the atmosphere, they don’t degrade or break down. They accumulate, and in the end persist. 

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