内容摘要：At the north end of town, all that remains of Bayou Billy’s Chimney Rock Country Fair amusement park is a pile of twisted metal, tattered awnings and jumbled train cars. A peeling, cracked yellow carousel horse that owner Bill Robeson’s own children once rode balances precariously on a debris pile, its mouth agape to the sky.

At the north end of town, all that remains of Bayou Billy’s Chimney Rock Country Fair amusement park is a pile of twisted metal, tattered awnings and jumbled train cars. A peeling, cracked yellow carousel horse that owner Bill Robeson’s own children once rode balances precariously on a debris pile, its mouth agape to the sky.

Looney may be “kind of a litmus test” for trial candidates, said NYU’s Montgomery, who led her transplant with her original surgeon in Alabama, Dr. Jayme Locke. “She’s received the transplant at just the right time,” before dialysis did too much damage.Attempts at animal-to-human transplants failed for decades. Now scientists can edit pig genes, and are searching for the best gene combination. (AP video/Shelby Lum)

Scientists have tried animal-to-human transplants for years without success but now they can edit pig genes, trying to bridge the species gap enough to keep the human immune system from immediately attacking the foreign tissue. Still, nobody knows the best gene combination.Revivicor, a United Therapeutics subsidiary, produces kidneys and hearts with 10 gene edits, “knocking out” pig genes that trigger hyper-rejection and excessive organ growth and adding some human genes to improve compatibility. Maryland used hearts with 10 gene edits in its two xenotransplants. Looney also got a kidney with 10 gene edits, based on Locke’s research when she worked in Alabama.While Montgomery is thrilled with Looney’s progress, he’s done most work using Revivicor pigs with just

, in a xenotransplant last April and in research with the deceased.“Our feeling is, you know, less is more,” said Montgomery, noting it’s easier to mass produce pigs with fewer gene alterations. Looney’s transplant offers a chance to compare “really how much difference those additional gene edits are making.”

In Boston, eGenesis has still another approach – a whopping 69 gene edits. In addition to 10 genetic alterations to improve human compatibility, genes linked to certain pig viruses also are inactivated.

Researchers feel pressure to show if pig organs can keep people alive much longer than a few months, said eGenesis’ Curtis. If not, the question will be “do we have the right gene edits?”The vote comes as power in

has been increasingly concentrated in the popular president’s office, and as organized crime wields significant political influence in many parts of the country. Critics worry that electing judges will weaken checks and balances on government and stack the courts in favor of the ruling party.Judges and court staff previously earned their positions through merit and experience. Now the election has more than 7,700 candidates vying for more than 2,600 judicial positions, including on

. Hundreds more positions will be elected in 2027.“We’ve never seen something like this before. What Mexico is doing is like an experiment, and we don’t know what the outcome of it will be,” said Carin Zissis, director of the Council of the Americas’ Washington office.