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This week: Personalized gene therapy

This week: Personalized gene therapy

plus professors using AI, chronic pain relief, invented wood

Brett Bouchard
May 17, 2025

Wise Tech - Technology news for non-tech humans!

This world-first procedure points to personalized medicine for each of us in the future.

1. A Baby Received Personalized Gene Therapy - First of Its Kind

What’s the tech?
Scientists created a personalized gene therapy (a medical treatment that fixes faulty genes by using specially made genetic material) to treat a baby with a rare and previously incurable disease. This is the first time doctors have made a gene therapy just for one patient.

How it’s used
Doctors studied the baby's unique genetic error and then designed a custom therapy to replace the broken gene. This helped the baby's cells work properly. The process was approved quickly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), showing how technology can move fast when lives are at risk.

Why it’s news now
This case could open doors for more children with rare diseases to get tailor-made treatments. It’s also an example of how new technology is moving medicine toward a future where treatments are made just for you.

2. The Professors Are Using ChatGPT Too

What’s the tech?
ChatGPT (an AI chatbot that can answer questions and create text) is not just for students. College professors are also using it to help them save time and rethink how they teach.

How it’s used
Professors are using ChatGPT to create practice quizzes, rewrite assignments, and even explain tough topics in new ways. Some worry about cheating, but many are seeing it as a useful tool, like a calculator for writing and research.

Why it’s news now
AI tools like ChatGPT are changing education in ways no one expected. Professors who once banned these tools are now exploring how to use them to make learning more creative and personal.

3. “AI Helped Heal My Chronic Pain”

What’s the tech?
People are using AI to manage chronic pain (pain that lasts for months or years). In one case, a woman worked with an AI chatbot to uncover emotional causes of her pain when regular doctors couldn’t find a physical reason.

How it’s used
She talked daily to an AI assistant, which helped her notice patterns in her feelings and pain levels. Over time, this helped her reduce the pain, showing how mental health and physical health are connected.

Why it’s news now
More people are using AI as a kind of life coach or health buddy. While it’s not a replacement for doctors, it’s giving people new ways to feel heard and supported when medical answers are hard to find.

Bonus Topic: What Is InventWood?

What it does
InventWood is a company making a new type of wood that is stronger than steel but still lightweight. This special wood is made by removing parts of the natural wood and then compressing the fibers.

How it’s used
This super-wood can be used to make things like cars, furniture, and buildings, offering a greener (better for the planet) alternative to metals and plastics.

Why it’s popular
People are excited because it’s strong, light, and better for the environment. It’s also cheaper to make than steel, which could change how many products are built.

Conversation starter
Did you know they can now make wood strong enough to build cars? Imagine driving a wooden car that’s tougher than a metal one!