Controversial gene therapy tests and algorithms under trial

Last year, biotech startup Minicircle began recruiting participants for a gene therapy clinical trial. But several details made it unusual. On the one hand, it asked potential guinea pigs to buy an NFT to participate, before being paid in cryptocurrency. Another is that it would take place in what is essentially an experimental crypto town – Próspera, Honduras.

It’s in this unusual context that Minicircle is trying to direct the biohacking charge to the mainstream, studying gene therapies that target familiar conditions like muscle disorders, HIV, low testosterone and obesity.

But medical ethics experts are less enthusiastic and worried about the progress of the trials and what they could mean for the booming and sometimes unscrupulous medical tourism industry. Read the full story.

—Laurie Clarke

The Supreme Court could review the way you live online

Recommendation algorithms sort through most of what we see online and determine how the posts, news articles and accounts you follow are prioritized on digital platforms. Now they are at the center of a landmark court case that finally has the power to completely change the way we live online.

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Gonzalez vs. Google, which addresses allegations that Google violated anti-terrorism law when YouTube endorsements promoted ISIS content. This is the first time the court will consider a legal provision called Section 230, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Read the full story.