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CNN
43 minutes ago
- Health
- CNN
Could stem cells be used to create life without sperm or egg? Not yet, but here's why scientists are concerned
Maternal health Women's healthFacebookTweetLink Follow Scientists are exploring ways to mimic the origins of human life without two fundamental components: sperm and egg. They are coaxing clusters of stem cells – programmable cells that can transform into many different specialized cell types – to form laboratory-grown structures that resemble human embryos. These embryo models are far from perfect replicas. But as labs compete to grow the best likeness, the structures are becoming increasingly complex, looking and behaving in some way as embryos would. The structures could further the study of human development and the causes infertility. However, the dizzying pace of the research, which started little more than a decade ago, is posing ethical, legal and regulatory challenges for the field of developmental biology. 'We could have never anticipated the science would have just progressed like this. It's incredible, it's been transformative how quickly the field has moved, said Amander Clark, a professor of molecular cell and developmental biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the founding director of the UCLA Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education. 'However, as these models advance, it is crucial that they are studied in a framework that balances scientific progress with ethical, legal and social considerations.' Clark is co-chair of the International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Embryo Models Working Group, which is now trying to update such a framework on a global scale. At issue is the question of how far researchers could go with these stem cells, given time and the right conditions. Could scientists eventually replicate an actual embryo that has a heartbeat and experiences pain, or one that could grow into a fully developed human model? As current research stands, no model mimics the development of a human embryo in its entirety — nor is any model suspected of having the potential to form a fetus, the next stage in human development equivalent to week 8 or day 56 in a human pregnancy. Creating embryo models has also been a hit-and-miss process for most research groups, with only a small percentage of stem cells going on to self-organize into embryo-like structures. However, the models do exhibit several internal features and cell types that an embryo needs to develop, such as the amnion, yolk sac and primitive streak, and that could, 'with future improvements, eventually progress toward later embryo structures including heart, brain, and other organ rudiments,' according to a June paper coauthored by Clark and published in the journal Stem Cell Reports. Similar models made with mouse cells have reached the point where the brain begins to develop and a heart forms. Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna tells Fareed about her path to becoming a leading scientist and explains how her discovery of CRISPR can help cure diseases and improve crops. Critically, the goal isn't to develop these models into viable fetuses, ultimately capable of human sentience, but to develop a useful research tool that unlocks the mysteries of how a human cell divides and reproduces to become a human body. The models also make way for experiments that can't be performed on donated embryos in a lab. However, it's possible as research advances that the distinction between a lab-grown model and a living human embryo could become blurred. And because the models lie at the intersection of historically controversial fields — stem cell biology and embryology — the work merits closer oversight than other forms of scientific research, Clark said. Clark and the ISSCR's Embryo Models Working Group in June recommended enhanced oversight of research involving the models. The society's guidelines, which first included guidance on embryo models in 2021, are being revised to incorporate the recommendations of the group and will be released in a few weeks. The current ISSCR guidelines make a distinction between 'integrated embryo models' that replicate the entire embryo, and 'non-integrated models' that replicate just one part of an embryo, requiring stricter oversight of the former. The updated guidelines will instead recommend that all research involving both types of embryo models should undergo 'appropriate ethical and scientific review.' The proposed update will also set out two red lines: The current guidance already prohibits the transfer of human embryo models into a human or animal uterus. The updated version will also advise scientists not use human embryo models to pursue ectogenesis: the development of an embryo outside the human body via the use of artificial wombs — essentially creating life from scratch. According to Clark, the stem cell-based embryo models she and other research teams work on should be considered distinct from research on actual human embryos, usually surplus IVF embryos donated to science. Such research is tightly regulated in many countries, and banned in others, including Germany, Austria and Italy. It makes sense, at least for now, to treat models and real embryos differently, said Emma Cave, a professor of healthcare law at Durham University in the UK who works on embryo models. She uses diamonds as an analogy: Natural diamonds and their commercially lab-grown equivalents are made from the same chemical components, but society assigns them different values. She cautioned there shouldn't be a rush to regulate embryo models too quickly in case it shuts down promising research. 'We are at an early stage in their development, where it could be that in 5, 10, 15, 20 years, that they could look very like a human embryo, or it might be they never get to that stage,' she said. As the scientific research unfolds, oversight of embryo models is taking different shapes in different jurisdictions. Australia has taken the strictest approach. It includes embryo models within the regulatory framework that governs the use of human embryos, requiring a special permit for research. The Netherlands in 2023 similarly proposed treating 'non-conventional embryos' the same as human embryos in the eyes of the law. The proposal is still under discussion, according to the Health Council of the Netherlands. Researchers in the United Kingdom released a voluntary code of conduct in 2024, and Japan has also issued new guidelines governing research in the field. In the United States, embryo models aren't covered by any specific legal framework, and research proposals are considered by individual institutions and funding bodies, Clark noted. The National Institutes of Health said in 2021 that it would consider applications for public funding of research into embryo models on a case-by-case basis and monitor developments to understand the capabilities of these models. Few other countries, however, appear poised to adopt specific legislation on embryo models, making the guidelines issued by the ISSCR a 'highly influential' reference for researchers around the world, according to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a London-based organization that advises on ethical issues in biomedicine. The council said in a November 2024 report that international guidelines were key to avoid 'research being carried out that does not meet high ethical and scientific standards; this in turn could impact on the national public perception of risk, leading to a more risk-averse approach that hinders responsible scientific development.' Clark said the ISSCR's updated voluntary guidelines would help scientific funding bodies around the world better evaluate applications and publishers of research understand whether work was performed in an ethically responsible way, particularly in places where the law or other guidelines don't take embryo models into account. The future challenge for regulators is to understand when and whether an embryo model would be functionally the same as a human embryo and therefore potentially afforded the same or similar protection as those surrounding human embryos, said Naomi Moris, group leader at The Francis Crick Institute's developmental models laboratory. The only definitive test would be to transfer the model into the uterus of a surrogate, a move that's forbidden by current bioethical standards. However, Moris is among a group of researchers that has proposed to two tipping points or 'Turing tests' — inspired by computer scientist Alan Turing's way of determining whether machines can think like humans — to evaluate when distinctions between a lab-gown model and a human embryo would disappear. 'These things are not embryos at the moment, they clearly don't have the same capacity as an embryo does. But how would we know ahead of time that we were approaching that?' Moris said. 'That was the logic behind it. What metrics would we use as a kind of proxy for the potential of an embryo model that might then suggest that it was at least approaching the same sorts of equivalency as an embryo.' The first test would measure whether the models can be consistently produced and faithfully develop over a given period as normal embryos would. The second test would assess when animal stem cell embryo models — particularly animals closest to humans such as monkeys — show the potential to form living and fertile animals when transferred into surrogate animal wombs, thus suggesting that the same outcome would in theory be possible for human embryo models. That hasn't happened yet, but Chinese researchers in 2023 created embryo models from the stem cells of macaque monkeys that when implanted in a surrogate monkey triggered signs of early pregnancy. Proponents of the technology say the models offer an equally, and possibly more, useful, ethical alternative to research on scarce and precious human embryos. The models have the potential to be produced at scale in a lab to screen drugs for embryo toxicology, a impactful application given that pregnant women have often been excluded from drug trials because of safety concerns. Yet, the potential for these models to be used in the creation of life has been cause for worry among bioethicists. 'There are commercial and other groups raising the possibility of building an embryo in vitro and combining different bioengineering approaches to bring such an entity to viability,' according to the June paper coauthored by Clark and other members of the ISSCR's embryo model working group. 'Currently the practice of bringing an SCBEM (stem cell-based embryo model) to viability is considered unsafe and unethical and should not be pursued,' the study noted. Cave said ectogenesis may sound like the realm of science fiction, but it isn't impossible. As embryo models continue to be developed, and separate research is advancing into artificial wombs, the two technologies could meet, Cave said. The challenge, she added, is recognizing the value of these research paths but at the same time preventing misuse. Jun Wu, an associate professor at the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern is one of a number of stem cell biologists involved in the field. He agreed that ectogenesis should be off the table but explained that researchers developing embryo models must engage in a delicate dance: To the unlock the mysteries of the human embryo, models have to resemble embryos closely enough to offer real insight but they must not resemble them so closely that they risk being viewed as viable. Magdalena Zernicka-Geotz, the Bren professor of biology and biological engineering at Caltech, said she welcomed the new guidelines. She announced in 2023 that her team had succeeded in a world first: growing embryo-like models to a stage resembling 14-day-old embryos. Later the same year, Jacob Hanna, a professor of stem cell biology and embryology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, said his team had gone a step further with a model derived from skin cells that showed all the cell types that are essential for an embryo's development — including the precursor of the placenta. Together the work represented a breakthrough for the models' potential use in research on pregnancy loss: At 14 days the human embryo has begun to attach to the lining of the uterus, a process known as implantation. Many miscarriages occur around this stage, Zernicka-Geotz said. Lab research on human embryos beyond 14 days, including those donated from IVF treatments, is prohibited in most jurisdictions. And while some scientists do study tissue obtained from abortions, such tissue is limited because few procedures take place between week 2 and week 4 of an embryo's development. The ability to grow an embryo model outside of a womb at this developmental stage paves the way for studies that are not possible in living human embryos. 'Far more pregnancies fail than succeed during the critical window just before, during and immediately after implantation. This is why we created in my lab the embryo-like structures from stem cells as a way to really understand this critical and so highly fragile stage of development,' Zernicka-Goetz said. Clark agreed that embryo models could potentially be used to address infertility problems: 'Implantation. It's the big black box. Once the embryo implants in the uterus, we understand very little about the development,' Clark added. 'And if we can't study it, we don't know what we're missing.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- General
- Time of India
Before the United States, there was Harvard: The story behind America's oldest university
The United States didn't exist. George Washington wasn't even born. Yet in this fledgling colony by the Charles River, a handful of English Puritans dared to dream of something revolutionary: not a nation, but a college. One that would 'advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity,' as they put it. And thus, Harvard was born: the oldest university in America, older even than the country that would later claim it. Today, Harvard University stands as an emblem of academic excellence and global prestige. But this towering institution, with its $53.2 billion endowment, Nobel laureates, and presidents among alumni, began humbly as a wooden building and a bold idea, nestled in the wilds of colonial New England. The Puritan Experiment: A college in the wilderness Harvard's story begins not with grandeur but with religious urgency. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, fearing a future without educated clergy, voted in 1636 to establish 'New College' to train ministers and civic leaders. In 1638, the institution received a bequest from John Harvard, a young English clergyman who had recently died of tuberculosis. He donated his 320-volume library and half his estate, a gift so vital that the college took his name. But this wasn't just about books and money. It was about belief. These settlers saw education as the linchpin of a moral society. Harvard wasn't designed to produce aristocrats or bureaucrats. It was meant to shape souls, minds, and missions. Even in these early years, Harvard broke ground. It housed the first known printing press in English-speaking North America, and by 1650, it had a governing charter, the same Harvard Corporation that still runs the university today. From theocracy to thought Walk through Harvard Yard today and you'll find students studying data science, literature, politics, and neuroscience. But back then, the curriculum was almost entirely religious and classical, rooted in Latin, Greek, logic, and theology. For its first few decades, the college aligned closely with Congregationalist Puritanism. The tension between faith and reason would define Harvard's next 200 years. In 1708, John Leverett became the first president of Harvard who wasn't a clergyman, generating a signal of changing tides. The 18th century brought increasing secularisation, aligning Harvard with Enlightenment ideas. By the 1800s, under leaders like Henry Ware and Charles William Eliot, Harvard was shedding its denominational skin and reinventing itself as a modern institution. Rise of the Harvard Elite in 19th century By the time the Civil War ended, Harvard had become the intellectual capital of New England's upper class. Presidents, poets, and philosophers walked its halls. Eliot's presidency (1869–1909) was transformative: under his leadership, Harvard expanded its curriculum, modernised its structure, and founded professional schools for law, medicine, business, that would shape American society. But even as Harvard opened new doors, many remained closed. Women, Jews, Catholics, and people of colour faced enormous barriers. Still, pressure for inclusion simmered—and change, though slow, was coming. A university at war with tradition In the 20th century, Harvard became a microcosm of American contradictions. In the 1920s, amid rising Jewish enrolment, Harvard considered implementing anti-Semitic admission quotas. Meanwhile, African American and female students were largely absent from classrooms and housing. Yet Harvard also became a laboratory for innovation. Under James B. Conant, president from 1933 to 1953, Harvard emphasised merit over wealth, pushing for more diverse admissions through standardised testing. After World War II, returning veterans entered the university in record numbers, breaking the Ivy mold. Women, too, found greater access through Radcliffe College, Harvard's sister school, until the two fully merged in 1999. Today, Harvard boasts women in top leadership roles, including, briefly, its first female president, Drew Gilpin Faust, in 2007. Into the 21st century: Power, politics, and protest If Harvard once symbolised elite continuity, it now often reflects academic conflict and cultural change. With students from over 150 countries, the university has become a global institution, but also a lightning rod for debates on race, equity, free speech, and most recently, international politics. In 2025, under the second presidency of Donald Trump, the federal government threatened to cut billions in funding over campus protests related to the Gaza war. When Harvard refused to comply with political demands, the administration retaliated by freezing grants, threatening visas, and launching investigations. Harvard, in turn, sued the government, igniting a national debate over academic freedom and university autonomy. This wasn't the first time Harvard had been in conflict with authority—and it likely won't be the last. Harvard today: A living archive of American education So what does it mean for a university to be older than the country that surrounds it? For students in 2025, Harvard is more than a brand or a headline. It is a place where history isn't just taught—it's lived. Every brick in Harvard Yard tells a story of conflict and compromise, of tradition and transformation. From the first printing press to digital-era protest, Harvard's journey is a mirror of America's imperfect, but always evolving. It's a reminder that education, at its best, isn't just about training minds. It's about building societies. And sometimes, it even comes before the nation itself. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
The Star
2 hours ago
- Health
- The Star
Prostate cancer no longer a death sentence with this superior treatment option
Prostate cancer has long posed a significant health challenge for men. It was first identified in 1853 by Dr John Adams in London Hospital (now The Royal London Hospital) following histological post-mortem examination of the prostate gland. At that time, prostate cancer was considered a very rare disease but it is currently the sixth most common cancer in Malaysia and fourth most common cancer worldwide. The first surgical attempt at treating the cancer was carried out by Theodor Billroth in 1867 via partial prostatectomy, a surgical procedure where a portion of the prostate gland is removed. However, it was only 37 years later in 1904 when Dr Hugh Hampton Young performed the first perineal radical prostatectomy which is still practiced today though with modification and improvement in technique. Medicine is continuously evolving and when radioactive radium was discovered in 1898, it paved the way for the first brachytherapy procedure in 1909. The emitted radiation from radium was used to destroy the diseased prostate tissue. Since the beginning of 20th century, increasingly more men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, with the majority having metastatic disease at presentation. Fortunately in 1941, future Nobel Laureates, Drs Charles Huggins and Clarence V. Hodges published the landmark paper on the effect of castration, of oestrogen and androgen injection on serum phosphatases in metastatic carcinoma of the prostate. Their work accelerated studies on anti-androgen therapies which are still in use today. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, discovered in 1980, revolutionised the detection and monitoring of prostate cancer. Over the past two decades, outlook for metastatic prostate cancer has evolved significantly with the introduction of various treatments such as denosumab, zolendronic acid, abiraterone, enzalutamide, olaparib and most recently the radionuclide-based PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen) therapy. Roots of PSMA PSMA was first identified by Murphy and Horoszewicz's team. They developed the capromab antibody which targeted the intracellular epitope of PSMA in 1987 and became the foundation of the first United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved molecular imaging agent for prostate cancer (ProstaScint) in 1996. Heston and Fair's group managed to clone the PSMA gene in 1993 and that led to a flurry of research up to the development of PSMA-based ligands for PET-CT imaging between 2011 and 2012. Since then, there has been many studies demonstrating the sensitivity and accuracy of PSMA PET-CT notably the ProPSMA trial. This multicentre phase 3 clinical trial demonstrated a 27% absolute improvement in diagnostic accuracy of PSMA PET-CT compared to conventional imaging of CT and bone scans. PSMA PET-CT imaging has been in Malaysia for many years but cost and availability of the services have always been an issue. It is expensive to set up and maintain the radiotracer generator and unless there is sufficient patient load and acceptable pricing, most hospitals do not offer PSMA services. Nonetheless, with the FDA-approval of Lutetium-177 PSMA Therapy ( Lu-PSMA) for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer in 2022, there has been growing interest in PSMA PET-CT. Prostate cancers patients tend to present late as they are usually asymptomatic and most prostate cancers are found incidentally during blood test with elevated PSA levels. No man with a prostate gland is spared, and even former US President Joe Biden and the creator of Dilbert comic, Scott Adams, publicly revealed in May 2025 that they have metastatic prostate cancer. The 3D Ga68-PET images show the sites of the metastatic prostate cancer before and after treatment. There is significant reduction in the number of lesions and the PSA levels after three cycles of Lu-PSMA therapy. — Dr ALEX KHOO CHEEN HOE Differing treatment modalities Treatment for prostate cancer is very dependent on the stage of the disease. It is therefore very crucial for doctors to stage the disease accurately. The treatment for a patient with stage 1 prostate cancer is very different from a patient with stage 4 disease. PSMA PET-CT has been shown as aforementioned to accurately stage the cancer. For early stages and depending on the cancer-risks, treatment options include active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, radical radiotherapy, long-term anti-androgen therapy (ADT) and various combinations. Fortunately for patients who develop metastatic disease, there are still treatment options available for those who are hormone naïve (ADT and novel therapies such as apalutamide, darolutamide, enzalutamide) or for those who developed castration-resistant disease (docetaxel, cabazitaxel, PARP inhibitors, Lu-PSMA therapy). In the past, having metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer was like a death sentence with clinician not having much treatment to offer. However, the 2015 introduction of Lu-PSMA therapy in the prostate cancer treatment armament has provided the much needed reprieve. Patient suitability Before doctors embark on treating metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients with Lu-PSMA therapy, PSMA PET-CT has to be done to determine if the patient is suitable for the treatment. If the cancerous lesions are not seen to demonstrate PSMA radiotracers on PET, then the patients are not suitable candidates for Lu-PSMA therapy. If the patient is suitable for treatment, the radioactive used – either gallium-68 (Ga-68) or fluorine-18 (18F) – in PSMA PET-CT of diagnostic value only is exchanged for a different radioactive (Lutetium-177) which has a therapeutic effect. Some clinicians would advocate doing both 18F-FDG (fludeoxyglucose) and PSMA-base ligand PET-CT upfront as baseline for better treatment selection but cost is usually an issue. Lu-PSMA therapy is a targeted therapy where intravenously administered radioactive (Lu-177) is is guided by the PSMA ligand to prostate cancer cells, which overexpress PSMA on their surfaces. The PSMA expression is 100-1,000 times higher in cancerous cells compared to normal tissue. This differs from conventional treatment (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) where the killing effect affects both normal and cancerous cells. With the highly selective target and short radiation range (1.5 to 3mm) in the body, the side effects from the radioactive treatment are relatively lower. This precision approach exemplifies the concept of 'theranostics,' where radioactive treatment can be imaged simultaneously, something unique to nuclear medicine. Following treatment with Lu-PSMA therapy, doctors are able to determine if the administered radioactive has been distributed to the targeted sites. Based on the post-therapy imaging, the doctors are also able to determine the next step in treatment. Prostate cancer continues to be a significant health concern, but early detection and the availability of advanced therapies offer hope. Men are encouraged to take proactive steps in maintaining prostate health, recognising that not all prostate issues stem from benign prostatic hyperplasia. With continuous advancements, particularly in PSMA-based theranostics, the outlook for patients with prostate cancer continues to improve. Lu-PSMA therapy stands at the forefront of this evolution, representing a critical step toward more effective and personalised cancer care. Dr Alex Khoo Cheen Hoe is a consultant nuclear medicine physician. For more information, email starhealth@ The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this article. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Bengaluru to host dialogue with Physics Nobel laureates today
BENGALURU: Ahead of the country's first-ever Quantum India Bengaluru Summit, scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday, the state government will host Nobel laureates in Physics Prof Duncan Haldane (2016 winner) and Prof David Gross (2004) for an exclusive dialogue on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Minor Irrigation, Science & Technology Minister N S Boseraju chaired a preparatory meeting related to the summit along with Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society (KSTePS) Managing Director Sadashiva Prabhu, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Prof Akshay Naik (co-chair of the summit) and senior officials. 'Our government is laying the groundwork to position Karnataka as India's quantum capital. This dialogue with Nobel laureates will mark the beginning of a long-term roadmap to integrate quantum innovation into Karnataka's development blueprint,' the minister said. With Bengaluru already recognised as the nation's innovation nucleus, Karnataka is accelerating efforts to harness quantum technologies for economic and social transformation. From IT and aerospace to cutting-edge quantum frontiers, the state aims to strengthen its position on the global innovation map, Boseraju said. The dialogue will facilitate high-level discussions between the Nobel laureates and Karnataka's top officials, including the principal secretaries of Industries, IT & BT and Higher Education. The exchange is expected to pave the way for advancing quantum research, infrastructure and collaborations with global experts.
Hindustan Times
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Hemingway remains the most famous 20th-century American novelist
IN the early 1920s Ernest Hemingway was a little-known journalist slumming around Europe and getting into absinthe-fuelled scrapes. Then, a century ago, in 1925, he published 'In Our Time', a book of short stories; in July of that year he started working on 'The Sun Also Rises' , his first novel, which fictionalised his antics. It became the most celebrated book about the 'Lost Generation' in post-war Europe. Hemingway became famous in the same way one of his characters described going bankrupt: 'gradually and then suddenly'. Eight other novels and novellas followed, as did Pulitzer and Nobel prizes. He remains the most famous American novelist of his century, judged by mentions in Google's corpus of books. His Wikipedia page also gets more views than those of his contemporaries, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck (see chart). Why? Chart There are three reasons. First, nobody had written like him before. A short clean sentence is a fine thing. But if the writer has his story straight and his words true he can go long and hard as a bull after a picador and to hell with big words and adverbs and commas. He also knew what to leave out, as he explained: 'If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.' This lean style influenced writers of fiction—notably Norman Mailer, Cormac McCarthy and Raymond Carver—as well as journalists. Joan Didion's spareness reads like sober Hemingway. Second, his heroes attracted famous admirers. He defined courage as 'grace under pressure': martially, for the soldier Frederic Henry in 'A Farewell to Arms'; physically, for the fisherman Santiago in 'The Old Man and the Sea'; or sportingly, for the titular cuckolded character in 'The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber', who becomes a fearless hunter. In 1955 John F. Kennedy asked for Hemingway's permission to use this definition in 'Profiles in Courage', which won the Pulitzer prize for biography. John McCain's favourite novel was 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' (1940), about the Spanish civil war, which he quoted in a posthumous book: 'The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.' Barack Obama, a fan of the same novel, mentioned it in his eulogy to McCain. Less credibly, Donald Trump has dubbed himself the 'Hemingway of 140 characters'. Third, and perhaps most importantly, Hemingway's life became legend. He married four times, drank hard, feuded with rivals, was wounded in the first world war, reported on the Omaha Beach landings in the second, ran with the bulls in Spain and survived a plane crash in Africa. But beneath the bravado, his ego was fragile, he sometimes swapped gender roles in bed and suffered from depression. He was one of seven in his family to commit suicide. That has provided ample material for biographies and documentaries, including a six-hour series by Ken Burns in 2021. But adaptations of his work are scarce. Fitzgerald and Steinbeck enjoy higher ratings and more reviews on Goodreads, a books website. Perhaps Hemingway's stoic heroes—and hints of sexism and racism, at least in the voices of some characters—are becoming old-fashioned. If so, he may end up like Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde: read keenly by a few, read about by many. For more on the latest books, films, TV shows, albums and controversies,sign up to Plot Twist, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter
