Good morning, folks! Megan here, back from vacation and ready to get you ahead of the day's news in health and medicine. 

The latest news from a big blood disease meeting

Experts who study blood diseases like anemia, sickle cell disease, and leukemia are convening in San Diego this week for the annual American Society of Hematology meeting.  Here’s a look at a few key highlights:

• Boston researchers announced encouraging — but early — results from a pilot study of an experimental gene therapy for sickle cell disease. Manny Johnson, the first patient to receive the treatment, is symptom-free and hasn't needed a blood transfusion in six months. More here.
• A big clinical trial of hydroxyurea — which is used to treat sickle cell disease in patients in developed countries — found the drug is also safe and effective in low-resource countries. Past studies have suggested the drug might raise the risk of malaria and other infections, but the new study in Africa found that malaria cases and other infections actually decreased.
• Bluebird Bio reported the first case of a cancer-like bone marrow disease in a patient that received its gene therapy for sickle cell disease. Bluebird can't pinpoint an exact cause, but the company's chief scientific officer tells STAT the condition was likely caused by chemotherapy given right before the gene therapy. More here.