87-Year-Old Woman Wins Back Her Madrid Home

The company is not creating babies now. What is it testing?

Scientists are testing gene-editing tools in embryos donated by couples. Some of these families have serious genetic diseases that have affected several generations. The scientists take stem cells from the embryos and test whether the tools can correct harmful gene changes.

So the first goal is research, not pregnancy. Where are the embryos kept?

They are kept in a very cold tank in the company’s New York laboratory. The tank contains liquid nitrogen. A company leader showed visitors four glass tubes in a metal holder. Each tube can hold up to ten embryos.

The science is easy to picture, but the idea raises serious questions.

Yes. The company says gene editing could prevent diseases such as Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, hereditary cancers, and Tay-Sachs disease. It wants to show that the possible benefits are greater than the risks.

What would make this different from treating one person?

The change could pass from a child to future generations. If a harmful gene is corrected in an embryo, the child might not have that disease. The child’s own children might also avoid the same gene change. That is why many people see this as a major medical and ethical question.

But using these embryos to create babies is not allowed in the United States.

Correct. It is against U.S. law and is also the subject of strong ethical debate. Critics worry that scientists may make mistakes, or that the technology could later be used for reasons beyond preventing disease.

What does the company hope will happen?

Its leader says hundreds of millions of people around the world live with these diseases. Origin wants more research and hopes the law and public opinion may change one day. For now, it is trying to show that its tools can work safely before any possible medical use.

Owen, thanks for explaining the promise and the risks.

An 87-year-old woman is set to return to her Madrid home after large protests.

Now we go to Sophie, LinguaWire’s correspondent for society.

Hello, Daniel. The woman is Maria del Carmen Abascal, known in Spain as Maricarmen.

Her housing dispute changed quickly this week. What is the latest agreement?

Her lawyer says the real estate company offered to return her rent to its earlier level. Under the deal, her monthly payment will be about 570 dollars for the next eight years. That amount is about 30 percent of her pension.

How high had her rent become?

An international investment fund bought her building and raised the rent by more than 200 percent. The new price was about 1,880 dollars each month. Maricarmen was then evicted from the home where she had lived for a long time.

The dispute became larger than one person’s rent.

Yes. Madrid’s tenants’ union organized protests and camps in Puerta del Sol, a famous square in central Madrid. Tens of thousands of people joined, and the protests later spread to dozens of other cities in Spain.

What wider problem were people protesting?

Many tenants say homes are becoming too expensive, while investment companies can earn more money from tourist apartments. Maricarmen became a symbol of the problem. The tenants’ union called the new agreement a “historic win.”

What measures has the government presented?

The government has presented a package for a vote in parliament this Friday. The measure most likely to pass would extend old protections for tenants until 2030. Those protections could help vulnerable residents avoid eviction during that time.

Why may the vote be difficult?

Protesters want stronger action. Conservative parties are expected to oppose parts of the package because they are more sympathetic to landlords’ interests. Spain’s central bank says the country needs about 755,000 more homes than it has now. The gap could grow to one million homes by 2028.

So this agreement helps one older woman, but the larger problem remains.

Exactly. Maricarmen may return home, but many other tenants still face rising rents.

Sophie, thanks for explaining the wider housing issue.

Now let’s review three useful housing words and one grammar pattern.

Rent means money paid regularly to live in a home. In the story, the rent rose to about 1,880 dollars a month.

Our rent is due on the first day of each month.

Tenant means a person who pays to live in a home. In the story, tenants protested against high housing costs.

The tenant asked the landlord to repair the window.

Landlord means a person or company that owns a home and rents it to other people. In the story, landlords’ interests were part of the political debate.

The landlord agreed to fix the heating.

“Maricarmen was then evicted from the home where she had lived for a long time.”

Use the past passive when an action happened to someone or something; form was or were plus the past participle.

“Maricarmen was then evicted from the home where she had lived for a long time.”

“She was known across Spain as Maricarmen.”

Repeat after me: “Maricarmen was then evicted from the home where she had lived for a long time.”