‘No Magic Bullet’ for Preserving Abortion Access, Biden’s Health Secretary Says

WASHINGTON – President Biden’s health secretary, facing criticism from other Democrats that the administration is not doing enough to counter the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, said on Tuesday that there was “no magic bullet” to preserve access to abortion – even as he outlined a series of steps his department will take … Read more

The Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 have together become dominant in the US, the CDC estimates.

Continuing their rapid march across the United States, the Omicron subvariants known as BA.4 and BA.5 have together become dominant among new coronavirus cases, according to new estimates on Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of the week ending Saturday, BA.4 made up 15.7 percent of new cases, and BA.5 was … Read more

Gas Piped Into Homes Contains Benzene, Other Risky Chemicals, Study Finds

The natural gas delivered to homes contains low concentrations of several chemicals linked to cancer, a new study found. Researchers also found inconsistent levels of odorants – substances that give natural gas its characteristic “rotten egg” smell – which could increase the risk of small leaks going undetected. The study, which was published in the … Read more

CRISPR in the Classroom – The New York Times

A decade after CRISPR started to become a major tool in genetic research, a new generation of scientists is growing up with the technology. Even high school students are able to run CRISPR experiments. Some specialized public high schools teach CRISPR as a hands-on lesson in biotechnology. These classes cover everything from molecular biology to … Read more

The Many Uses of CRISPR: Scientists Tell All

Smartphones, superglue, electric cars, video chat. When does the wonder of a new technology wear off? When do you get so used to its presence that you don’t think of it anymore? When something newer and better comes along? When do you forget how things were before? Whatever the answer, the gene-editing technology CRISPR has … Read more