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All the Ps

In MIT's Technology Review, Lee Hood discusses his P4 — "powerfully predictive, personalized, preventative — meaning we'll shift the focus to wellness — and participatory" — medicine idea. When asked what technologies will spur this change, Hood says that patient genomes will be "a standard of medical records in 10 years or so," that protein levels in blood will be measured using nanotechnology approaches, and that single cell analysis will aid in understanding disease states. The challenges, he says, are the data and societal acceptance. Hood adds that he is starting a P4 Medical Institute. "The idea is to bring in industrial partners as part of this consortium to help us transfer P4 medicine to the patient population at Ohio State University, which is both the payer and provider for its employees," he says.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.