In a step that some of the nation’s leading scientists have long warned against and that has never before been accomplished, biologists in Oregon have edited the DNA of viable human embryos efficiently and apparently with few mistakes, according to a report in Technology Review. The experiment, using the revolutionary genome-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9, was led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon...
Tag: <span>Crispr</span>
Post
Scientists replay movie encoded in DNA
“Molecular Recorder” would reveal secrets of brain development. For the first time, a primitive movie has been encoded in — and then played back from — DNA in living cells. Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health say it is a major step toward a “molecular recorder” that may someday make it possible to...
Post
Researchers Refute Study That Claims CRISPR Causes Unexpected Mutations
IN BRIEF A study published earlier this year warned scientists of potential complications with CRISPR/Cas9, but after review by researchers at another institution, the findings of that study are being brought into question. It remains to be seen whether the original study will be corrected or retracted, but this development highlights the importance of peer...
Post
The CRISPR controversy: Scientists skeptical over recent critical study
Last month, a study was published claiming that the groundbreaking CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technique could potentially introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into an animal’s genome. Unsurprisingly, this study sent shockwaves through the scientific community, with the stock prices from several gene-editing companies falling. Critics are now calling into question the veracity of the study, claiming it is filled...
Post
A World First CRISPR Trial Will Edit Genes Inside the Human Body
IN BRIEF The CRISPR process will be used inside the human body for the first time on July 15th to combat HPV, which impacts millions of people worldwide. And this is just one of a huge amount of proposed CRISPR studies occurring soon. UNINVASIVE CRISPR A new CRISPR trial, which hopes to eliminate the human papillomavirus (HPV),...
Post
Closer to a cure: CRISPR cuts HIV from its cellular hideout
CRISPR-Cas9 has been used to eliminate HIV from mice, in another step towards a possible permanent cure Last year, researchers at Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh unveiled a proof-of-concept study that described how the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool could be used to eliminate HIV from infected cells. Now, in another potential step towards a permanent...
Post
CRISPR gene-editing tool targets cancer’s “command center”
Researchers have used CRISPR-Cas9 to target DNA sequences specific to cancer, shrinking tumors and improving the survival rates of cancer-stricken mice The CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system can do some pretty amazing things, giving us new ways to fight muscular dystrophy, blindness, and even HIV. But at the top of its hit list is cancer, and now researchers...
Post
A New “CRISPR Pill” Makes Bacteria Destroy Its Own DNA
IN BRIEF An innovative study in the University of Wisconsin-Madison could soon put an end to drug-resistant bacteria by using an edible version of CRISPR. This probiotic could target specific bacteria, making it more effective than antibiotics. TARGETED AND EDIBLE As antibiotic resistance continues to grow, scientists are desperately trying to figure out how to best...
Post
Using CRISPR to reverse retinitis pigmentosa and restore visual function
A confocal micrograph of mouse retina depicting optic fiber layer. Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, with colleagues in China, have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing cellular degeneration and restoring visual...
Post
CRISPR cousin SHERLOCK may be able to track down diseases, scientists say
Researchers demonstrate the fluorescent signal generated by SHERLOCK.SCOTT SASSONE/BROAD INSTITUTE If the genome-editing powerhouse CRISPR were a dog, it would be the kind you can train to retrieve everything from Frisbees to slippers to a cold beer. In research reported on Thursday, scientists trained their puppy to be so discriminating it can tell Zika’s genetic...