New DNA Editing for Diseases, Dining Surveillance, and More
Genes are gettin’ cleaned and your bloomin’ onion might come with a side of Big Brother, but first: Our daily cartoon shows off a new way to ditch your veggies.
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Today’s Headlines
A new Crispr technique could fix almost all genetic diseases
A new method of Crispr gene editing, called “prime editing,” could, in principle, correct around 89 percent of the mutations that cause inherited human disease. The lab of David Lieu has already used this method to fix the genetic glitches that cause sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and Tay-Sachs disease. That’s just three of more than 175 edits the group unveiled today in an article published in Nature.
At an Outback Steakhouse, surveillance blooms
A Portland, Oregon-area Outback Steakhouse is set to install a computer vision system to monitor interactions between employees and guests. The system uses machine learning to analyze footage of restaurant staff, tracking metrics like how often a server tends to their tables or how long it takes for food to come out. But lest you think there will be recordings of you shoveling fried food into your face: “We do not collect any personal information and the video is deleted within three days of collection,” says Jeff Jones, the president and CEO of Evergreen Restaurant Group. For now, you’ll just have to take his word for it.
Fast Fact: $50 billion
That’s how much money presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants the government to put into the development of thorium molten-salt nuclear reactors to transition from fossil fuels to green energy. But is it actually realistic? Our science writer says: Good luck, buddy.
WIRED Recommends: Beats Powerbeat Pro
Not only are these WIRED’s favorite workout earbuds, they’re also $50 off right now on Amazon.
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