Scientists used their expertise in quantum biology, artificial intelligence and bioengineering to improve how CRISPR Cas9 genome editing tools work on organisms like microbes that can be modified to produce renewable fuels and chemicals ..read more

A team of researchers has developed a software tool that provides a way for the safer design of genome editing in all organisms with a transcriptome. For about a decade, researchers have used the CRISPR technology for genome editing. However, there are some challenges in the use of CRISPR. The new analysis system overcomes these challenges and allows researchers to perform safer on- and off-target assessments without a reference genome. It holds the potential for applications in medicine, agriculture, and biological research ..read more

A plant geneticist and computational biologist teamed up to decipher the unpredictability of natural and engineered mutations in tomatoes. They discovered some combinations of mutations behave as expected while others are more erratic. Their work may help scientists find some order in the chaos of evolution and genome editing ..read more

A microscopic discovery will not only enable scientists to understand the microbial world around us but could also provide a new way to control CRISPR-Cas biotechnologies ..read more

To study muscle diseases, scientists rely on the mouse as a model organism. Researchers have now developed a new method that is not only faster and more efficient than conventional ones but also greatly reduces the number of experimental animals needed for studying the function of genes in muscle fibers ..read more

A new CRISPR-based gene-editing tool has been developed which could lead to better treatments for patients with genetic disorders. The tool is an enzyme, AsCas12f, which has been modified to offer the same effectiveness but at one-third the size of the Cas9 enzyme commonly used for gene editing. The compact size means that more of it can be packed into carrier viruses and delivered into living cells, making it more efficient ..read more

Scientists mapped out the three-dimensional structure of one of the smallest known CRISPR-Cas13 systems then used that knowledge to modify its structure and improve its accuracy ..read more

Researchers have developed a novel genome editing technique known as NICER, which results in significantly fewer off-target mutations than CRISPR/Cas9 editing. The technique uses a different type of enzyme that makes single-stranded 'nicks' in the DNA. Repair of these nicks is more efficient and accurate than repair of double-strand breaks caused by the current CRISPR/Cas9 editing. This technique represents a novel approach for the treatment of genetic diseases caused by heterozygous mutations ..read more

Researchers have developed a method that lets them genetically modify each cell differently in animals. This allows them to study in a single experiment what used to require many animal experiments. Using the new method, the researchers have discovered genes that are relevant for a severe rare genetic disorder ..read more

A single injection of a novel CRISPR gene-editing treatment safely and efficiently removes SIV -- a virus related to the AIDS-causing agent HIV -- from the genomes of non-human primates, scientists now report. The groundbreaking work complements previous experiments as the basis for the first-ever clinical trial of an HIV gene-editing technology in human patients, which was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 ..read more