Two children have been cancer-free for up to 18 months after receiving a controversial gene-editing therapy

A new cancer treatment helped two children with leukemia be disease-free for up to 18 months, new research reveals. Researchers from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London investigated a new cancer treatment in two infants with an aggressive form of leukemia. The youngsters received an immune-boosting treatment alongside a gene-editing technique, known as TALENS, that altered their DNA. TALENS is a form of gene editing that causes specific immune cells, known as T cells, to express proteins that target tumors. The youngsters had previously been treated with chemotherapy and received stem cell transplants.The researchers made four DNA alterations on immune cells from donors and infused the cells into the patients. Results revealed that both youngsters have been cancer-free for 16 and 18 months, respectively.

The findings were published in the journal Science Transnational Medicine. 

First human embryos are edited in the US in a controversial step towards creating 'designer babies'

A controversial technique that lets scientists 'edit' genes in a human embryo has been successfully used for the first time in the U.S. CRISPR which stands for Clustered Regularly Inter-spaced Palindromic Repeats is a cut and paste gene editing technique for making precise edits in DNA. CRISPR works by trimming the unwanted parts of a genome and replacing them with new DNA. This technique means diseases such as cancer, HIV, and other genetic diseases can be treated and even better genetic defects can be corrected in the embryonic development of a baby. Researches from the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland carried out the study according to MIT's technology review. So far, three previous reports of editing human embryos were all published by scientists in China. But this experiment is believed to have broken new ground because the embryos are allowed to develop for more than just a few days. Results of the peer-reviewed study are expected to be published soon in a scientific journal, according to OHSU spokesman Eric Robinson. CRISPR however is highly controversial facing oppositions from religious, civil society and biotech groups.

Insomnia is in your genes, not all in your head: Discovery could lead to targeted treatments for sleep problems

 A dutch study has identified seven genes that put people at increased risk of developing sleeplessness. Insomnia in individuals is linked to their genes and the condition could have little to do with stress. Although bad sleeping habits, sleeping schedule and other factors play a part in insomnia among individuals, it's emerged that much of the condition is down to one's genetic makeup. The research was carried out by scientists at Vrije University in Amsterdam by mapping the DNA of more than 113,000 people from Britain and the Netherlands. They also found a strong genetic overlap with other traits such as anxiety disorders, depression and neuroticism, and low well being. This comes as no surprise because individuals with these traits tend to suffer from insomnia. This founding is groundbreaking because it paves new way for drugs to designed in a such a way that it targets the proteins that lead to these mutations to help treat the condition instead of the millions of sleeping tablets that are prescribed every year.