Yesterday, the FDA approved a drug called Provenge. It trains the body’s immune system to fight off advanced prostate cancer. It’s also the first proof we have that immunotherapy works in the fight against the disease.
We are at a biological turning point: We can invent organisms to make our drugs and fuel, even recode our DNA. It’s easy to run away screaming, but author Michael Specter says we have to quit whining and face it.
If you’ve ever considered getting a tattoo, it’s probably for aesthetic purposes. That’s all well and good, but in the near future getting a tattoo might be the best way to deliver vaccines, so if you go in for a new ink job you could also protect yourself from any number of diseases, including some cancers.
