🎵 Here Comes The Sun(screen Recall) 🎵

Image: The Cut

Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling five of its aerosol sunscreen products after internal testing found trace amounts of benzene, a carcinogen, in some samples.

• The recall covers five of the company's six Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreens (pictured above). Distributors and retailers were notified to stop selling the products and arrange for their return.
• J&J sells one other spray sunscreen product, Neutrogena Wet Skin, which isn’t affected.

📜 Background... Benzene is a chemical that can cause cancer after high levels of exposure. High levels of exposure can also have more immediate effects like dizziness, confusion, and rapid or irregular heartbeats.

• J&J didn't specify the exact benzene levels it found - or how many bottles were affected - but said the levels were low and "would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences."
• The company also said it doesn’t use benzene to manufacture the spray sunscreens and is investigating the cause of the contamination.

📸 The big picture... The recall comes nearly two months after an online pharmacy called Valisure petitioned the FDA to remove dozens of suncare products - including some of those recalled by J&J - after detecting benzene in them.

• Valisure's testing previously led to recalls of the popular heartburn drug Zantac and diabetes drug Metformin.

💰 Somebody call the Brinks truck... There are two options to get a refund – you can either call 1-800-458-1673 and follow the steps there or fill out this form to get your money back (heads up, you need to provide a receipt or proof of purchase).

🎁 DONUT Headline: A team of researchers used an experimental brain implant combined with deep-learning algorithms to allow a paralyzed man to generate words and sentences on a computer using only his thoughts.

For the first time in history, scientists used CRISPR to directly target an organ inside the human body, according to results from an ongoing early-stage clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine late last month. (What is CRISPR?)

• "This is the first example in which CRISPR-Cas9 is injected directly into the bloodstream — in other words systemic administration — where we use it as a way to reach a tissue that's far away from the site of injection and very specifically use it to edit disease-causing genes." –John Leonard, CEO of Intellia Therapeutics, which is sponsoring the study.

☀️ More on the bright side... The gene-editing technology has already been shown to help patients suffering from beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease, two blood disorders.

• Researchers are currently attempting to use CRISPR to treat cancer and restore vision to patients blinded by a disorder called Leber congenital amaurosis – the leading cause of blindness in childhood.

✋ Yes, but test-tube babies... The emergence of gene-editing technology has given rise to questions surrounding the ethics of human genetic engineering – not to be confused with the field of human gene therapy.

• In gene therapy, the genetic changes affect only the patient.
• In genetic engineering, scientists alter genes in egg or sperm cells, known as germline cells – changes that can be passed on to future generations.
• The National Institutes of Health has had a funding moratorium on using gene-editing technology on human germline cells since 2015.

In 2018, a Chinese scientist announced he secretly created twin girls from an embryo whose DNA he edited in a way thought to give resistance to HIV – changes that might be passed on to the twins' descendants. He was later arrested and sentenced to three years in prison.

👀 On the horizon... The WHO on Tuesday published the results of a two-year independent global consultation on how human genome editing tools should be used (which was established after news broke about the genetically engineered twins in China).

• In two separate reports, the WHO advisory committee outlined several possible scenarios and suggested actions and pathways governments and regulators should take going forward.

🦠 Infection Protection

Image: Elena-Marie Willner / DietzLab / TUM

Although vaccines can protect against the contraction of viruses, there are few effective antidotes to treat viral infections once they have taken hold in a human body.

• An interdisciplinary team of researchers recently proposed a new strategy to cure acute viral infections using a nanostructure made of DNA that captures and neutralizes viruses.

Utilizing “DNA origami technology,” these nanostructures can be deployed within the body to engulf and neutralize viral infections.

• The treatment has proven to be effective against hepatitis and adeno-associated viruses in a lab setting – now, researchers are moving forward with testing their technology in living mice.

Keep reading.

Images: Battersea

One-year-old Bertie the Labrador recently got promoted to the role of a lifetime: fatherhood.

• The rescue dog, saved by the folks at Battersea shelter only a year ago, did not step into his dad-duties with a litter of puppies – instead, he took on a handful of kittens that were brought in from the streets at just two weeks old.

Bertie rose to the occasion, caring for the tiny kittens and protecting them as they regained their strength and prepared themselves for adoption.

• All of the kittens have now made it to their furever homes!

Keep reading.

Which Western astological sign is represented by the crab?

A) Gemini
B) Cancer
C) Virgo
D) Capricorn

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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B) Cancer

In astrology, Cancer is a Zodiac sign belonging to those born between June 21 and July 22. It's often represented by a crab. ♋ --> This is the Cancer emoji, get your mind out of the gutter.