This article first appeared in The Checkup,MIT Technology Review'sweekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,sign up here. Recently, global news has been pretty bleak. So this week, I've decided to focus my thoughts beyond Earth's stratosphere and well into space. A couple of weeks ago,...

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Space travel is dangerous. Could genetic testing and gene editing make it safer? Long-distance space travel can wreak havoc on human health. There's radiation and microgravity to contend with, as well as the...