The United States may be within months of a profound turning point in the country’s fight against the coronavirus: the first working vaccine.

Demonstrating that a new vaccine was safe and effective in less than a year would shatter the record for speed, the result of seven-day work weeks for scientists and billions of dollars of investment by the government. Provided enough people can get one, the vaccine may slow a pandemic that has already killed a million people worldwide.

Continue reading “First, a Vaccine Approval. Then ‘Chaos and Confusion.’” →

EDITING HUMANITY

The Crispr Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing

By Kevin Davies

In July 2019, MIT Technology Review took a break from its usual beats, such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, to offer some news from the world of book publishing.

Continue reading “The Promise and the Reality of Gene Editing” →

The Food and Drug Administration released new guidelines on Tuesday for coronavirus vaccine developers — a step that had been held up for two weeks by top White House officials. The guidelines make it highly unlikely that a vaccine could be authorized by Election Day.

The move, which was cleared by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, appeared to be an abrupt reversal a day after The New York Times reported that White House officials, including Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, were blocking the guidelines. Top F.D.A. officials were caught by surprise when they learned midafternoon that the new guidelines had been cleared.

Continue reading “In Reversal, White House Approves Stricter Guidelines for Vaccine Makers” →