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    "original_url": "https:\/\/reason.com\/2026\/09\/19\/7-cool-advances-in-biosciences\/?mc_eid=d824ab4cc6&utm_source=Reason%2BMagazine&utm_campaign=f53ba658bb-reason_brand%7Cnew_at_reason%7C2026_09_21b&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_31d7ef7f57-f53ba658bb-589886052",
    "parsed_content": "Science\nCancer Vaccines, Anti-Aging Treatments, and 5 Other Exciting Biomedical Advances\nGetting older makes you more prone to all kinds of maladies. So why not become younger?\nRonald Bailey\n|\nFrom the October 2026 issue\nShare on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL\n Add Reason to Google\nMedia Contact & Reprint Requests\n (Illustrations: George Mussel\/Fiverr)\n Listen to this article 7 min We are at the dawn of a golden age of biosciences, characterized by massive leaps in molecular biology. Breakthroughs in precise gene editing, mRNA vaccines, targeted cancer treatments, and more are transforming biomedicine.\nMove Over, Wegovy and Zepbound\nRetatrutide, a new diabetes and weight loss medication that targets three different receptors in the brain and body, is even\u00a0more potent\u00a0than earlier GLP-1 medications. In\u00a0preliminary trials, the drug enabled people to lose an average of 70 pounds over 80 weeks. Millions of Americans with diabetes and\/or obesity have\u00a0benefited\u00a0from GLP-1 medications, and the obesity rate for adults has begun\u00a0declining\u00a0largely due to their advent. GLP-1 drugs also\u00a0reduce\u00a0the risk of heart attacks,\u00a0reverse\u00a0fatty liver disease,\u00a0slow\u00a0the progression of chronic kidney disease, and effectively\u00a0treat\u00a0sleep apnea. Although retatrutide has not yet been reviewed, let alone approved, by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), black market versions are\u00a0popular\u00a0among biohackers.\nGet Your Lipoprotein(a) Level Tested\nLipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is an especially dangerous kind of cholesterol that\u00a0triples\u00a0the risk of a heart attack. Your genes largely determine your Lp(a) level. Cardiologists have known for decades that around\u00a020 percent\u00a0of Americans are at risk of elevated Lp(a), but they have not offered to test their patients. Why? Because doctors could offer no treatments for the condition. Never mind that patients might want to know their risk for their own reasons, such as career planning. In April, the cadre of medical paternalists finally\u00a0recommended\u00a0that patients take a one-time blood test to determine their Lp(a) levels. Fortunately, treatments to lower Lp(a) may be available soon. Preliminary clinical trials show that small interfering RNA drugs shut down Lp(a) production in the liver,\u00a0reducing\u00a0levels by 80 percent to 94 percent.\nPowered By10 SecHundreds of Migrants Continue to Occupy Spain's Ceuta, Build Homes on Beach NextStayNew Infectious Disease Vaccines\nThe FDA willing, a powerful new\u00a0mRNA influenza vaccine\u00a0providing broad protection against various strains of the virus should be available during the next flu season. More than 620,000 Americans are\u00a0estimated\u00a0to be infected by Lyme disease each year. But thanks to\u00a0trial lawyers, Americans have not had access to a vaccine against the tick-borne illness. That could soon change: This year, Pfizer and Valneva\u00a0reported\u00a0that their new vaccine is 70 percent effective in preventing Lyme disease. So far, 91 million people worldwide have been\u00a0infected with HIV, and 44 million have died of the disease. Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and the Scripps Research Institute\u00a0report\u00a0that they have developed a vaccine that induces broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV in primates. A preliminary\u00a0human trial\u00a0began earlier this year.\nSequence Your Whole Genome on the Cheap\nBack in 2009, I paid 23andMe $1,000 for a genotyping test that analyzed about 555,000\u00a0single nucleotide polymorphisms\u00a0(SNPs). The test captured about 5 percent of the common\u00a0human SNPs. Using the data, 23andMe compiled health predisposition reports, carrier status, and ancestry insights. I just paid sequencing.com $399 to sequence my entire genome. The company is analyzing my genetic data against more than 15,000 diseases, rare conditions, traits, and medication reactions.\nCancer Vaccine Progress\nHighly effective vaccines targeting cancer-inducing pathogens\u2014such as HPV\u00a0and\u00a0Hepatitis B\u2014have been available for decades. Researchers are now developing therapeutic mRNA vaccines to prime patients' immune systems to attack their cancers. A preliminary 2026 study\u00a0reported that seven of eight patients who responded to a pancreatic cancer vaccine were still alive four to six years after surgery. More excitingly, researchers are beginning to develop vaccines that trigger a preventative immune response to common cancer-causing mutations before tumors develop. In a preliminary\u00a0preventative vaccine\u00a0trial, none of the patients with a genetic predisposition or worrisome cysts developed pancreatic cancer.\nHuman Reproduction Breakthroughs\nIn May, Paterna Biosciences\u00a0reported\u00a0that it had grown functional human sperm entirely outside the body. Paterna used the lab-grown sperm to successfully fertilize human eggs. In June, the biotech company Conception\u00a0announced\u00a0that its researchers had turned blood cells into mini ovaries that contain millions of future human egg cells. That same month, a team of Columbia University researchers\u00a0detailed\u00a0how they used a precise version of CRISPR genome editing to correct a specific mutation in early-stage human embryos. (Not surprisingly, the achievement provoked bioethical\u00a0warnings\u00a0that rich people would start combining the tech with in vitro fertilization to optimize their children.)\nReversing the Clock\nGetting older makes you more prone to all kinds of maladies. So why not become younger? Considerable research is focused on\u00a0Yamanaka factors, a set of four proteins discovered by Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka that reprogram old cells into youthful stem cells. Life Biosciences is launching a\u00a0clinical trial\u00a0deploying three of the Yamanaka factors to restore sight by resetting old, damaged cells to more youthful patterns of gene expression. Several other startups, including\u00a0Altos Labs,\u00a0Retro Biosciences, and Rejuvenate Bio, are pursuing this route to increased longevity and health through cellular rejuvenation. More adventurous (reckless?) anti-aging pioneers might consider traveling to biotech startup Minicircle's\u00a0clinic\u00a0in the Honduran charter city of Pr\u00f3spera for Klotho injections. The company's gene therapy boosts the production of the Klotho protein, which has been\u00a0shown\u00a0to improve physical and cognitive health and extend lifespan in mice.\nAs exciting as this short list of biomedical advances is, I am asking everyone involved to please hurry. None of us is getting any younger.\nThis article originally appeared in print under the headline \"7 Cool Advances in Biosciences.\"",
    "published_at": "2026-09-19T10:00:46+00:00",
    "author_name": "Ronald Bailey",
    "site_name": "Reason",
    "section": "Science",
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    "ai_headline": "Cancer Vaccines, Anti-Aging Treatments, and 5 Other Exciting Biomedical Advances",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Ronald Bailey Highlights 7 Biomedical Advances in October 2026 Issue",
    "ai_excerpt": "This article explores seven significant advancements in biosciences, including new diabetes and weight loss medications, treatments for high Lp(a), infectious disease vaccines, genome sequencing, cancer vaccines, human reproduction breakthroughs, and anti-aging therapies. It emphasizes the rapid progress in molecular biology.",
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