Your missing links are here (29 November 2019)

Top picks

Big news for CRISPR and safe genetherapy! First data from CRISPR-based therapies to treat sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia shows promising results. Still early days though.

And here and here

And also meet Victoria Gray, the first CRISPR sickle cell patient and listen to her story in this podcast

The ins and outs of base editors. Excellent feature by Sandeep Ravindran, Nature

»Highly abundant, previously untapped type I CRISPR–Cas systems can be harnessed for genome engineering applications in eukaryotic cells«, Nature Biotechnology
Press release on the study by Caribou Biosciences

Vision and opinion

And now amidst CRISPR baby concern: Bioethicist argues that we need a CRISPR baby industry ASAP
Full argument in bioethics paper

A moratorium on heritable human genome editing is not enough argues Jennifer Doudna in Science one year after chinese CRISPR babies

Russian consensus that human genome editing on embryos and germ cells is premature, 15 geneticists, clinicians and bioethicists writes in a letter to Nature.

Industry

»Can a non-profit change the economics of drug development in a time of ever-rising drug costs for the healthcare system?« Harvard consortium to build $50M cell and gene therapy center. And here

New gene therapy bladder cancer drug fase III results to be presented 5 Dec. Ferring and Blackstone invest $570M
And Press release

Gene therapy global boom, $2 billion spending spree in production facilities for future gene therapies

Uh ah wow

CRISPR the movie - Human Nature - showcases biology’s hottest tool up to the point when things went awry, review by Amy Maxmen.

And speaking of when things went awry: Where is He? AP News takes a look at the fate of He Jiankui and the CRISPR babies 1 year after He shocked the world. It's a mystery. No one seems to have heard from him or them since early 2019.