FDA approves Pfizer gene therapy Beqvez for treatment of hemophilia B

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Pfizer‘s treatment for a rare genetic bleeding disorder, making it the company’s first-ever gene therapy to win clearance in the U.S.  The agency greenlit the drug, which will be marketed as Beqvez, for adults with moderate to severe hemophilia B … Read more

InnerPlant helps farmers reduce pesticides and agricultural waste

What if plants could talk to farmers and tell them when they’re distressed? That would not only help the plants but also reduce the amount of agricultural waste that threatens the planet’s health. Much of agriculture may look green, but the industry is one of the world’s biggest carbon offenders. It accounts for at least … Read more

‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first

Dave Myen didn’t think much about being the first patient in Canada to receive a robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery two months ago. He was just looking for anything to relieve the pain. Now he says he feels thankful the robot enabled minimally invasive surgery and reduced recovery time. “When I woke up from surgery, … Read more

Walgreens launches cell, gene therapies in service expansion

A person rides past a Walgreens truck, owned by the Walgreens Boots Alliance, in Manhattan, New York City, on Nov. 26, 2021. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Walgreens on Thursday said it will start to work directly with drugmakers to bring cell and gene therapies to U.S. patients as part of a broader expansion of its specialty … Read more

Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman’s life

NEW YORK — Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart. Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and out of options. Then doctors … Read more

NASA releases satellite photos of record UAE flooding

NASA released photos of parts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi before and after the United Arab Emirates was hit by record rainfall last week that caused dangerous floods and paralyzed much of the country. The images, taken by NASA Earth Observatory on Friday using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey, show large patches of … Read more

Biotech IPOs heated up, but haven’t fully recovered

Angelp | Istock | Getty Images Think a friend or colleague should be getting this newsletter? Share this link with them to sign up. Good morning! After a two-year dry spell, initial public offerings by biotech companies showed signs of life during the first three months of 2024.  But it’s too early to say that … Read more

Voyager 1 sending data to Earth for 1st time in 5 months

By Ashley Strickland | CNN For the first time in five months, NASA engineers have received decipherable data from Voyager 1 after crafting a creative solution to fix a communication problem aboard humanity’s most distant spacecraft in the cosmos. Voyager 1 is currently about 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away, and at 46 years … Read more

Tinubu celebrates Tunde’s new world record

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Tunde Onakoya on setting a new world chess record and putting up Nigeria’s resilience, self-belief, and ingenuity for global acclaim. This is contained in a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Saturday in Abuja. Mr Ngelale said that Mr Onakoya broke the … Read more

Meet the private doctor to the wealthy — at $40,000 a year

Dr. Jordan Shlain, founder of Private Medical. Credit: Jordan Shlain A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. When people ask Dr. Jordan Shlain to describe his medical practice, he says … Read more