Editor’s Focus: An embarrassment of riches

I don’t have anything particularly pithy or wise to say this month (and some people in my life would probably quip: “What’s new about that?”), and both our columnist Peter Kissinger and our guest writer Dr. Caroline Horizny from Taconic have a lot to say—so let me just expound upon this issue in and of itself.

Maybe it’s just me, but this issue seems jam-packed with goodies, and not the usual fare, either. Don’t get me wrong: I love all the oncology-related stories and Alzheimer’s disease news and the growing area of liver disease therapeutics and all that. And given that most of you readers work in pharma, biotech or academic research, it’s the kind of stuff you probably most want to read about.

Somehow in this issue we have managed to cram a CRISPR gene-editing feature that features not just one, but two Q&As with industry insiders along with other news. And to top off that expert insight, we also have a guest commentary with a focus on CRISPR patent issues around animal models to help keep those of you needing such models on the best path.

On top of that, we have a special report on cell biology that I think will be of particular interest to those of you working at the bench level. Also, while we have a diagnostics-oriented news section every issue, we don’t often cover annual meetings that would be of particular interest to that segment of our readers, and this issue we have a preview of the Association for Molecular Pathology’s 25^th annual meeting.

We’ve also got two stories—one in the Market News section and one in the Clinical Trials section—on alopecia, a big area of interest for many patients but not a topic that hits my inbox or voicemail often. Also keep an eye out for our stories on prophylaxis vs. radiation exposure, ophthalmology coverage and the often-neglected area of antibiotic resistance.

But don’t worry—if some of those are too niche for you, we also have those oncology, liver and neurology stories, plus coverage of up-and-coming areas like the microbiome and artificial intelligence. Enjoy!