Health/Life Sciences

Novo Nordisk teaming up with startups for diabetes challenge, aiming to create new digital health tools

More than 100 million people in the U.S. have diabetes or pre-diabetes, making the disease one of the most common —… Read More

Gender expert at University of Washington thought her ‘genius grant’ was a prank

When University of Washington psychology professor Kristina Olson got the call telling her she’d be receiving one of the MacArthur… Read More

Secretive startup Receptor Life Sciences raises $7.5M for therapies based on ‘plant extracts’

Secretive biotechnology company Receptor Life Sciences has raised a funding round totaling just over $7.5 million, according to a filing with… Read More

Wellness tech is helpful, but ‘don’t get too obsessed’ with the numbers, biotech leader says

The number of tools and gadgets aimed at health has skyrocketed in the past few years. That technology can be… Read More

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub launches open-access database of mouse cells to fuel research

Mice are the quintessential research animals. Over decades, these unassuming creatures have played a role in almost every advance in modern… Read More

Paul Allen says non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has returned but voices optimism about fighting it

Nine years after he underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a potentially fatal but treatable form of cancer, Microsoft co-founder Paul… Read More

FDA approves Adaptive Biotech’s tool to track potential cancer relapses

Seattle-based biotech company Adaptive Biotechnologies announced Friday that the FDA has cleared its clonoSEQ platform for use. It marks first time a technology… Read More

AbCellera raises $10M for machine-learning fueled antibody discovery platform

AbCellera, a biotech startup based in Vancouver, B.C., announced Thursday that it has raised a $10 million series A round… Read More

Sentinel Healthcare launches platform to fill gaps between IoT devices and doctors offices

Dr. Nirav Shah is a stroke specialist by training. He’s spent years studying the cardiovascular system, but increasingly, his patients… Read More

New Alexa skill from Seattle and Boston children’s hospitals takes on flu season

Kids already have a lot of AI friends to chat with, whether they’re asking Siri to play their favorite song… Read More

Can’t get enough sun? Startup launches light therapy booths to bathe users in vitamin D

You walk into a small kiosk glowing with purple light, press the buttons on the touchscreen interface, and stand for… Read More

Fred Hutch study discovers how cancer evades immunotherapies, sometimes returning years later

Few advances in cancer treatment have gotten as much attention in the past decade as immunotherapies, therapies that use the… Read More

TLDR: Nest secretly buys digital health startup

Today’s featured stories Nest’s digital health ambitions revealed in records from secretive purchase of Seattle startup Senosis Backed by Seattle… Read More

Silverback Therapeutics raises $37.5M, unveils tech that targets therapies to disease locations

Silverback Therapeutics, a stealthy biotechnology startup, gave the first glimpse of its technology Wednesday as it announced an additional $37.5… Read More

‘Work is broken’: Limeade acquires Sitrion as company aims to boost employee engagement

Limeade continues to march forward on its mission to improve employee engagement at work. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company today announced… Read More

Bill and Melinda Gates warn ‘stunning progress’ toward reducing global poverty could stall for first time in decades

Since 1990, the percentage of people around the world living below the extreme poverty line has dropped from 36 to… Read More

Seattle skyline turns blue this week to celebrate Allen Institute’s 15th birthday

If you see a lot of blue lights around Seattle landmarks this week, it’s not in honor of the Seahawks —… Read More

Podcast

How Bill Gates, a valley full of snakes and one entrepreneur took on a deadly disease

In 1996, Bill Gates read a story in the New York Times that sparked his passion for health. The story… Read More

The robot will see you now: New GeekWire Summit track explores how AI, genetic data and more are transforming healthcare

From chatbots to Apple Watches, blood tests to genetic data, technology is changing almost every element of healthcare. That transformation… Read More

Saykara raises $5M as its AI voice assistant cuts time doctors spend on paperwork by 70%

If you are a doctor in the U.S., chances are you spend a lot of time doing paperwork — sometimes double… Read More

Apple makes huge leap in health tech with first-of-its-kind heart tracking feature on Apple Watch

Apple made a bold move into health technology during a special product event Wednesday, announcing that the Apple Watch Series… Read More

OncoResponse raises $40M to start clinical trials of antibody-based cancer immunotherapies

OncoResponse, a Seattle biotech company creating antibody-based treatments for cancer, has raised a $40 million Series B round to advance… Read More

TLDR: Paul Allen’s $100K donation to help GOP, Amazon briefly becomes $1T company, latest philanthropic efforts by Amazon

Today’s featured stories Tech titan Paul Allen gives $100,000 to GOP causes — and he’s not the only one Amazon… Read More