This interview has been edited for length and clarity. JORGE GARAY: AI BioDesign seeks to explore possible molecules and biological functions that have never existed in nature. Are there any particular risks involved in venturing into this uncharted territory? How can scientists anticipate those risks and what steps can they take to minimize them before
I traveled to Las Vegas in May to watch the Enhanced Games — a one-of-a-kind sports competition that lets athletes compete while using the kind of performance-enhancing drugs typically banned in professional sports. The games, derided as the “steroid Olympics,” were put on by a telehealth company backed by the likes of Peter Thiel and
The net worths of CEOs and founders are largely at the whim of their company stock—all it takes is one breakout earnings report or blockbuster news to shake up their fortunes. Now, Moderna cofounder Robert Langer has re-entered the billionaires club following promising cancer vaccine trials that sent the company’s stock soaring. Langer, known as
When Fidji Simo announced she was leavin g her role as one of the most senior members of OpenAI’s leadership team after a seven year battle with her chronic illness, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, the news felt unexpectedly personal. My little cousin has POTS, and it’s been devastating to witness. Simo’s post said
“We thought that’s probably the one that’s least likely to pop up,” Geisbert says. “We guessed wrong.” Concerned by that knowledge gap, in 2011 he decided to modify a vaccine, which led to the crab-eating macaque study. In the same study, he also finally tested a blend of existing ebola vaccines on the Bundibugyo strain,
