Experts are recommending that human gene editing research proceed—but not clinical applications right now. [Ivcandy / Getty Images]

Discussing De-Extinction, Trump’s Tariffs Touch Biopharma, and Reports from Recent Travels

By Corinna Singleman, PhD , Alex Philippidis , Uduak Thomas and Fay Lin, PhD

April 11, 2025

Credit: Ivcandy/ Getty Images

Are Dire Wolves really back? We give our take on Colossal Biosciences’ latest announcement about the de-extinction of Dire Wolves including some thoughts on their approach and some of the broader implications of their work. In other stories, we discuss the early impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on biotech as well as the growing alarm in the scientific community in the wake of sweeping layoffs and leadership departures at the FDA, CDC, and NIH. We also share news from recent scientific conferences and meetings that we’ve attended as well as an interesting study that used human cell maps to shed new light on pediatric bone cancer.

Listed below are links to the GEN stories referenced in this episode of Touching Base.

Plex Research Partners with Ginkgo Bioworks to Apply AI-Based Search Engine to Drug Discovery

By Uduak Thomas, GEN, April 8, 2025

Danaher-IGI Beacon for CRISPR Cures Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

By Fay Lin, PhD, GEN, March 28, 2025

Human Cell Maps Uncover Insights in Pediatric Bone Cancer

By GEN, April 10, 2025

StockWatch: Biopharma Funds Tumble with Wall Street as Industry Spared from Worst of Tariffs—for Now

By Alex Philippidis, GEN Edge, April 6, 2025

FDA, NIH, CDC Stagger as HHS Axe Falls, Eliminating 10,000 Jobs

By Alex Philippidis, GEN Edge, April 1, 2025

Industry Voices Alarm as Peter Marks Departs FDA