GEN – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Crops failing due to adverse weather conditions. Data infrastructure struggling to cope with burgeoning data loads. Patients being denied stem cell therapies because of immune rejection risks, or because manufacturing bottlenecks have yet to be resolved. These problems, and others, are discussed in the June issue of GEN. Our takes are decidedly optimistic. More resilient (and more nutritious) crops are being developed with CRISPR technology. Data infrastructure is beginning to comply with FAIR principles, which emphasize Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability. And stem cell therapies are overcoming immune resistance by deploying “medicinal signaling cells,” preserving the “stemness” of cord blood cells, and engineering T cells that can suppress immune responses in organ-specific ways. A less life-and-death (but still serious) stem cell application—overcoming hair loss—receives attention, too. Rounding out our June coverage, we present articles describing “digital twins,” increasingly quantitative mass spec platforms, and the economic challenges facing the nation’s top 10 biopharma clusters.