The Most Dangerous Place on the Planet

Groundbreaking Gene Therapy Clears UK Teen’s Untreatable Cancer

Chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant were no match for Alyssa’s leukemia. “Eventually I would have passed away,” said the 13-year-old. But the team at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital had other ideas. They “base edited” donor T-cells, modifying the molecular structure of specific elements of genetic code, and sent them in to attack Alyssa’s cancer. Six months and one bone marrow transplant later, she’s leukemia-free. Nine others are now receiving the treatment. Dr. David Liu, one of the inventors of base editing, said the technique’s applications are “just beginning” and he looks forward to humans “taking control of our genomes.” (Sources: BBC, The Guardian)

Wolves Return to California of Their Own Accord

Gray wolves were hunted to extinction in California in the 1920s. There’s never been an effort to reintroduce them, but starting in 2011 animals from Oregon began to realize that the living’s good in the Golden State. California now has three wolf packs, two of which are already reproducing annually. “It’s really a remarkable thing that has happened here,” said biologist and wolf advocate Amaroq Weiss. “It’s pretty rare where you have nearly eradicated a species and it starts to come back on its own.” Weiss hopes the removal of state protections for wolves in Oregon won’t hit California too hard. (Source: The Guardian)

South African Man Killed by Bees He Believed to Be His Ancestors

Some African cultures believe that ancestors take the form of bees to visit their living relatives. So when a swarm settled on his property, Nkosentsha Njimbana consulted a traditional healer who told him to perform the ukugxotha iinyosi, dispersing bees, ceremony. While Njimbana was explaining the ritual to the bees, they attacked and killed him. “If you are a Xhosa person, you don't run away and call municipal workers to remove the bees because bees are your visitors," said traditional expert Loyiso Nqevu. He speculated that Njimbana may have tried to disperse the bees without trying to understand the ancestors’ message. (Source: News 24)

World’s Oldest Jeans Sell For $114K

On Sept. 12, 1857, the S.S. Central America went down, taking with it 30,000 pounds of gold and 425 lives. The wreck was discovered in 1988, resulting in a slew of lawsuits and the sale of tens of millions of dollars of gold. Now artifacts recovered from the wreck have also gone under the hammer — among them a pair of work pants described as the oldest known pair of jeans. While some speculate they may have been made by Levi Strauss, company historian Tracey Panek said, “The pants are not Levi’s nor do I believe they are miner’s work pants.” (Source: AP)

Leading US Soccer Journalist Dies at World Cup Match

As the fractious quarterfinal between Argentina and Netherlands neared its conclusion, Wahl — who’d just celebrated his 48th birthday — went into acute distress. Medical personnel at the stadium performed chest compressions for about 20 minutes. During 24 years at Sports Illustrated and several years podcasting, Wahl established himself as “America’s preeminent soccer journalist,” said Chris Wittyngham — and the U.S. Soccer Federation credited him with “helping to drive interest in and respect for our beautiful game.” Earlier in the World Cup Wahl was temporarily detained for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of LGBTQ rights, but he was eventually allowed in. (Source: NYT)

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