Gene-edited viruses improve blind people’s vision in experiment – National & International News – WED 29Wed2021

Gene-edited viruses improve blind people’s vision. US mail to be slower, pricier during holidays. 39 trapped Canadian miners climb ladders 4000 ft to safety.

NATIONAL NEWS

Gene-editing experiment helps people with vision loss see colors

Researchers using a CRISPR gene-editing tool have helped restore some sight to patients with a genetic visual impairment. All seven recipients of the experimental treatment suffer from Leber congenital amaurosis, or LCA, which disables crucial cells in the retina that allow you to perceive light. LCA sufferers progressively lose vision beginning at birth and usually become legally blind.  

Doctors modified the participants’ DNA by injecting harmless gene-edited viruses into cells within the body. CRISPR has already shown immense promise in treating blood disorders like sickle-cell anemia. But in those processes, doctor’s extract a subject’s cells, put them through a gene-editing process and then reinject them, which is impossible to do with retinal cells. 

Researchers say the new approach appears to have been successful and some of the patients have experienced marked improvement in their vision. Some of the legally blind patients are now able to perceive shapes and colors more vividly. While their vision is still far from perfect, the patients can now more easily do and experience things most people take for granted.

One patient, Carlene Knight, had such poor vision that she could barely move around her workplace using her cane. Now, she is able to make out doorways, navigate hallways and perceive colors and shapes. Another patient, Michael Kalberer, pictured above, recounted seeing the sunset for the first time in years.

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US mail delivery to get slower, pricier ahead of the holidays

Last year, many in the US experienced lengthy delays in shipping packages around the holiday season. This year may not be much better. The US Postal Service is announcing new standards for first class mail and periodicals that will slow target delivery time by about 30%. Most lightweight first-class mail such as letters and fliers will not be affected. But the new standards will apply to first-class packages starting Friday.

Also, from Oct. 3 to Dec. 26, USPS will increase prices, charging a holiday premium for all “commercial and retail domestic packages”. These prices will not apply to international shipping.

All this is part of a 10-year plan by US Postmaster Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee, which he claims will improve the “consistency, reliability, and efficiency”. In the second quarter of this year, first-class mail delivery standards were met 83.6% of the time, compared with 88.9% during that time the previous year. During that same quarter, the USPS also posted a $3 billion, compared to $2.2 billion during that period in 2020.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

39 trapped Canadian miners free after climbing 4000 ft

After 3 days trapped underground, 39 miners are free after using ladders to climb 4000 feet. The Totten mine in Ontario produces copper, nickel and precious metals and employs about 200 people. The team became trapped on Sunday a heavy scoop bucket crashed into the lift system and blocked the shaft. Rescuers reported all the rescued miners were in good health. The mine has refuge stations that allow miners access to food and water and contact with the outside world in the even of emergencies.

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