Emily Mullin
@emilylmullin
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Staff writer at @WIRED, covering biotechnology. 2021 @KSJatMIT project fellow. Contact me: [email protected]
Pittsburgh, PA
Joined May 2009
Looks like Facebook is starting to roll out its new preventive health tool. Important to note that health info you share on social media platforms is not covered by HIPAA, which means Facebook is not obligated by law to protect it.
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NIH is looking for volunteers who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate blood for studies on the immune system.
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All infants born in the US undergo a heel-prick test to be screened for certain diseases. Some states hold onto those blood samples for years, even decades, and police may now be using them in criminal investigations. My latest for @WIRED:
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Facebook of course is promising strict privacy safeguards, but given the platform’s history of data breaches and privacy violations, how can users trust that their data will be protected?.
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Stanford Medicine officials used an algorithm to determine who should get a Covid vaccine first, and it prioritized some high-ranking doctors who are working from home over medical residents who see patients every day. by @CarolineYLChen.
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Genomics company Illumina just unveiled its fastest, most cost-efficient DNA sequencer yet. The machine will deliver a $200 human genome and will be able to generate 20,000 of them a year.
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Scientists are growing tiny brains, lungs and guts in the lab to help unravel the mysteries of the coronavirus.🧫 . What are these "organoids" telling us so far? "It’s bad news adding to a pile of bad news,” one scientist told me.
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This new tool is asking you to share very personal health information, like whether you’ve gotten a Pap smear.
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Deep brain stimulation has been used for more than 30 years to treat people with Parkinson's disease. Now, in two small trials in North America, scientists are testing whether similar brain implants can help those with severe drug and alcohol addictions.
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Facebook says it won’t share your health info with other users or third parties, including advertisers, but the data will be accessible to some Facebook employees.
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NEW: Scientists in the U.K. CRISPRed human embryos in the lab, and the results don't bode well for gene-edited babies.
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Scientists have enlisted the world’s most powerful supercomputer to help find drugs that could be used to treat COVID-19.
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Neuralink says first clinical trial application will be for paralyzed people to help them type with a computer. This has already been done, btw. Average typing speed with a brain-computer interface is about 10 words per minute.
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The words "breakthrough" and "mice" do not belong in the same sentence.
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Fox News finally catches on to CRISPR, and the resulting headline is about what you’d expect.
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Immunity certificates could promise a return to normalcy for some, but bioethicists and public health experts say there could be major drawbacks. My latest for @ozm:.
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Musk called this a "product demo," but more accurate to call it a prototype.
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Demo includes 3 pigs: 1st without a Neuralink chip, 2nd that previously had one, 3rd that has had one for two months.
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One key question: how long will the implant last? Musk says they are "very robust." . But they've only been in pigs for a few months. The brain is a harsh environment. Current chips used (Utah arrays) last only a few years, if that.
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After a year of freelancing, I’m thrilled to be joining OneZero, @medium’s new science and tech pub, as a staff writer focused on biotech. I start next Monday!.
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A vaccine trial for coronavirus launched in record speed. But even if it works, it won't be widely available for at least a year.
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This is wild. For the first time, genetically modified viruses (aka bacteriophages) have been used to successfully treat a patient with an antibiotic-resistant infection.
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"We're making good progress towards clinical studies," Musk says. Adds that Neuralink received breakthrough device designation from the FDA in July, which provides an expedited pathway for approval.
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Some personal news: Next week I’m joining the staff of my hometown newspaper, @PittsburghPG, as the resident health reporter! . I’ll be covering the pandemic, medical research and other health news in the region. Very excited to serve the community I grew up in!.
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Devastated to lose half my colleagues on @WIRED's science desk this week due to layoffs. We need more science journalism in the world, not less. @WIREDScience won't be the same.
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Scientists used CRISPR to put this GIF inside living DNA.
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About 80% of donated lungs are unsuitable for transplant. Scientists were looking for a way to keep these damaged organs viable long enough to repair them. So they connected the lungs to pigs — and it worked.
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Hackers recently targeted a major DNA database, temporarily exposing more than 1 million user profiles to police without their consent. I wrote about what these security breaches mean for the future of genetic privacy.
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An experimental brain implant is allowing a half-dozen people to see light and motion after being completely blind for years or decades.
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23andMe just won FDA approval for a genetic test for BRCA mutations that doesn't require a doctor's order. It's the first approved direct-to-consumer cancer test in the US.
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"White-collar workers can self-isolate only because it’s someone else’s job to deliver all the things they order on demand." @WillOremus writes on the future of remote work post-coronavirus:
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Reminder: At last year's Neuralink event, Musk said the company could tests its brain chip in clinical trials as early as this year.
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For the debut of our new science publication, FUTURE HUMAN, I wrote about how gene therapy and gene editing could end inherited deafness. But should we? . The ability to change our DNA raises questions about how far we should go — and at what expense.
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Here’s what we know about all the planned CRISPR trials so far:
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My computer keeps wanting to autocorrect "germline" to "gremlin.".
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I asked @RiceUniversity if they knew about Michael Deem’s involvement in the Chinese gene-edited babies experiment. Here’s the university’s response:
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Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics just submitted their gene-editing therapy for sickle cell disease to the FDA for approval. A decision is expected in 8-12 months. If approved, it would be the first CRISPR treatment on the market.
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Some personal news: I’ve accepted a buyout from Medium. My last day will be April 7. I’m sad to be leaving but feel it’s the right decision for me.
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Deadlines in journalism vs. science:. Me to source: Hi, I'm a reporter working on a story. Are you available sometime in the next few days to chat?. Source, three months later: Hi, I'd love to chat. How about next month?.
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In @statnews, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki says consumers don't need experts to interpret genetic test results, likens them to at-home pregnancy tests. That's a false comparison. Pregnancy tests give you yes/no result. Genetic risk much more complicated.
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Incredibly honored to be chosen as an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project Fellow for this fall! . I'll be pursuing a book on the history, science, and ethics behind the effort to use animals as organ donors for people.
We are thrilled to announce our 2021-22 Project Fellows! These 21 distinguished journalists will pursue a diverse range of projects related to science, health, technology, and the environment. Read about the fellows:
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I’m excited to share that I’m joining @WIRED next month as a staff writer covering biotechnology!.
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Several children in China who were born deaf can now hear after receiving a gene therapy injection in the ear. Another child treated in the US also has hearing:
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I'm not sure who needs to hear this but: men (it's always men), please do not send me unsolicited manuscripts of your CRISPR thriller novels.
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Some personal news: I'm being laid off from @techreview, so I'm looking for freelance opportunities and/or a full-time gig. Editors, if you're looking to hire a biotech/medicine reporter or commission any stories, please let me know!.
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I'm looking to tell more stories about synthetic biology in 2023. Feel free to get in touch with pitches: emily_mullin@wired.com.
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Bayer is donating 3 million tablets of the malaria drug Resochin (chloroquine phosphate) to use against coronavirus.
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"It’s like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires." —Elon Musk, on Neuralink's brain chip 🤔.
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How long before we have CRISPR IVF tourism in China?.
@EricTopol @antonioregalado @lisamjarvis @emilylmullin @AP Here’s a @YouTube video by Dr. He announcing the birth. Twins Lulu and Nana are home. Unbelievable! .
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How can you get tested for Covid-19? What's being done about the U.S. testing shortage? How does the test work exactly? I put together a practical guide on coronavirus testing for @elemental:
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2022 was the year base editing, a more precise form of CRISPR, was used on humans for the first time—just six years after its invention. My latest for @WIRED:
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Jennifer Doudna’s statement on report of gene-edited babies:
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I have a CRISPR joke but I'm not sure how to deliver it.
i have a CRISPR joke that is a real knock out.
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SCOOP: That Penn CRISPR trial proposed in 2016 is finally moving forward.
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The first CRISPR therapy, for sickle cell disease, is now approved in the US.
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"This is a restraining order for all genome editors to stay the living daylights away from embryo editing.”. U.K. scientists found that CRISPR caused major unintended edits in human embryos. New from me: .
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Reality check on CAR-T therapy: "61 percent of patients who underwent the novel treatment weren’t cancer-free two years later."
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A bit of good news: Korean scientists now say "reinfections" of Covid-19 were just false positives.
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I was a fan of His Dark Materials as a kid, so of course I’m in favor of bringing back airships.
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NASA is able to predict eclipses down to the second. Can we give them the benefit of the doubt on climate change now?.
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Well, today is my last day at @techreview, so I thought I would share some stories I’ve done over the past nearly two years that I’m especially proud of.
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Facing a looming data storage crisis, a new government program is spending $48 million to use DNA as hard drives. My story for @ozm:
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Scientists have used CRISPR to fix the Huntington's gene in cells taken from patients. . I recently wrote about the long road to gene-based therapies for Huntington's disease:
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After her Nobel win last week, I spoke with Jennifer Doudna about what's next for CRISPR, her scientific work, and her companies. Read the interview at Future Human:.
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I looked at costs of treating some diseases targeted by gene therapy. The verdict: Gene therapy could be a bargain.
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The latest organ-in-a-dish? A human esophagus. Made entirely from stem cells. My story for @NatGeo:
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A CRISPR journalist finally learns to CRISPR. This is a good time to admit that the last biology class I took was in high school. (Thanks to @mbloudoff for taking the photo and to @evolvwing for letting all of us amateurs play in his lab.)
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Scientists are trying to use CRISPR to snip HIV out of people's cells—and they've treated the first volunteer. Later this month, the man will go off antiretroviral therapy to see if the one-time infusion cleared the virus from his body.
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Scientists are racing to develop rapid coronavirus tests and ones that could be done at home. These new tests could make all the difference in how we track Covid-19 and future disease outbreaks — if we can get them to enough people.
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GEDmatch, the DNA database used to arrest the Golden State Killer, requires users to opt in for their profiles to be included in police searches. But the breach overrode those privacy settings, making their profiles available to law enforcement.
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Many cancer treatments are toxic to healthy cells. So how to only treat the tumor? . Boston-based Strand Therapeutics had figured out how to "program" mRNA to turn on and off in certain tissues and will test the idea in patients this spring.
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Like many people, my mom and I recently discovered a family secret after taking a consumer DNA test. Last weekend, my mom got to meet the full sister she never knew she had. Someday I might write about it, but right now it’s not my story to tell.
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Men of Silicon Valley: women have been drinking Slimfast and starving themselves long before you decided Soylent and fasting are biohacking.
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DARPA is funding a futuristic project to use CRISPR to make soldiers and astronauts radiation-resistant. My story:
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A U.S. biotech company is offering an unproven anti-aging gene therapy for $1 million in South America. My story:
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At this point there must be more blockchain genomics startups than people actually using their services.
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A Baltimore nursing home has had no coronavirus infections among its residents and employees because its director took immediate action in late February.
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Can we agree that 2018 should be the year that science journalists stop writing coffee is good/bad for you stories?.
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Startup Orchid is offering a spit test for couples to learn their risk of passing on schizophrenia, heart disease and cancer to their kids. The problem? The genetics behind these conditions are complex and not well understood. My story for @techreview:.
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Sickle cell gene therapy cure raises big question: who can afford to get it?
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1990-2003: 13 years to sequence the first genome. 2015: 26 hours . 2018: 19.5 hours .
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Ex vivo gene therapy is complicated to do and costs $$$. Meanwhile, sickle cell is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Big dogs have short lifespans. A drug that could extend their lives just cleared a key FDA hurdle. My latest for @WIRED:
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Hackers didn't stop there. They apparently took user emails they got from GEDmatch to orchestrate another attack — a phishing scam on users of MyHeritage, a consumer genetic testing company.
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Doctors at the University of Minnesota have edited two patients' immune cells with CRISPR in hopes of halting their cancer. My story for @statnews:
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When PR folks ask you to send a list of questions via email ahead of an interview.
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My latest: CRISPR is giving sickle-cell patients hope for a cure.
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In Oct. 2020, a sea lion named Cronutt received a transplant of pig brain cells as a last-ditch effort to treat his epilepsy. More than a year later, Cronutt is seizure-free. Scientists hope to eventually try the therapy in people. My story for @NatGeo:.
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Rapid genome sequencing is diagnosing some of the sickest babies in time to save them. My latest:
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As of today, Nathan Copeland has had a brain implant that lets him control a computer with his mind for more than 7 years and 3 months—longer than any other human. For @WIRED, I wrote about what the milestone means for the brain-computer interface field.
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My husband very graciously offered to transcribe an interview for me and now I have discovered that he is a two-spaces-after-a-period person.
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ICYMI: Remember that paper from last year claiming CRISPR caused way more off-target mutations than previously thought? Well, it's been retracted.
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Audience member at #CRISPRcon asks Feng Zhang how soon we’ll edit a human embryo that will result in the birth of a baby. Zhang says, “It is feasible. The technology is there now.”.
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