Human Gene Editing
CRISPR, fluorescent proteins, optogenetics: Three life-enhancing technologies inspired by nature
Watson and Crick, Schrödinger and Einstein all made theoretical breakthroughs that have changed the world’s understanding of science. Today big, game-changing ideas are less ...
How epigenetics is poised to revolutionize food, farming and animal agriculture
Epigenetics studies the chemical compounds and proteins that can attach to DNA and direct the actions to turn a specific ...
60% of elderly people have hearing problems. Here’s how gene editing and other cutting-edge techniques could restore the inner ear
Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities in the United States. It can be caused by the effects ...
Kenya is emerging as a major hub of CRISPR biomedical research in Africa
Kenyan scientist Dr Hussein Abkallo wound up in the sophisticated world of Crispr Cas9 almost by chance, unaware that the ...
How CRISPR gene editing will revolutionize medicine
Already, there have been hundreds of proposed applications for CRISPR, some more interesting and others more problematic. A few examples ...
‘Designing’ cats to be less allergenic? Gene editing provides a solution
Solutions for people who want to be around cats despite allergies are labor-intensive, of questionable value, and sometimes defy common ...
How genes from other species can open the door to human colonization of the far reaches of the universe
[Geneticist Christopher Mason has developed] a “500-year plan for the survival of the human species on Earth, in space, and ...
The world of ‘designer DNA’ meets the challenge of intractable genetic disorders. Here’s how that story may play out
[T]he cutting-edge world of innovative genomic therapies is once again in the midst of explosive change—and designer DNA lies at ...
Biryani boost: Raft of gene editing innovations can improve rice quality and flavors
Today, biryani is a staple in millions of kitchens around the world. And yet, no two are alike. Myriad add-ons ...
CRISPR gene editing debuts in space, as astronauts study how DNA repairs itself from cosmic radiation
Space radiation has long been a concern for astronauts living beyond Earth’s protective atmosphere—it can damage DNA, leading to cancer ...
With treatments for COVID still elusive, CRISPR offers promise in preliminary tests
Scientists have harnessed CRISPR gene-editing technology to block the replication of the novel coronavirus in human cells — an approach ...
Viewpoint: Might CRISPR gene editing ‘unleash dangerous mutants, designer babies and new weapons of mass destruction?’
Mankind has been manipulating genetics since early civilizations realized that certain traits of crops, animals and humans themselves were hereditary ...
Video: Curious about the full implications of the CRISPR gene editing revolution? Here’s a primer
With CRISPR, a group of enzymes recognize certain repeats, and break the DNA there to insert important information in the ...
Saving the world — or possibly destroying it? What does the future of CRISPR genetic engineering portend?
In the past 70 years, we have uncovered the structure of DNA, the blueprint of life, built machines to read ...
Setting ethical limits on human gene editing after fall of 14-day barrier
Quick, accurate and easy-to-use, CRISPR-Cas9 has made genomic editing more efficient—but at the same time has made human germline editing ...
WHO restates opposition to gene-editing live human embryos but endorses other forms of genome modification
[July 12,] a World Health Organization advisory committee called on the world’s largest public health authority to stand by the ...
WHO proposes global registry and whistle-blowing mechanism to curb unethical and unsafe human gene editing abuses
The World Health Organization issued new recommendations [July 12] on human genome editing, calling for a global registry to track ...
Intellia’s disease-eradicating CRISPR tool is injected directly into the bloodstream. Here’s why that’s such a big deal
CRISPR gives us the ability to correct genetic mutations, and given that such mutations are responsible for more than 6,000 ...
How tall will your children be? Here are the nature versus nurture factors
We often consider our height as being unchangeable, determined by our genetic make-up from when we were conceived. After all, ...
Why sickle cell disease is a perfect target candidate for CRISPR gene editing
When the gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9 was discovered in 2012 by Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna and collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, it changed ...
Here’s an update on the (quixotic?) CRISPR gene editing project to revive the defunct woolly mammoth
As CRISPR allows scientists to splice individual genes that program for specific characteristics into the genome of living species, it ...
CRISPR milestone: Crippling transthyretin amyloidosis disease now treatable through gene editing, paving way for addressing other genetic diseases
[65-year-old Patrick] Doherty found out he had a rare, but devastating inherited disease — known as transthyretin amyloidosis — that ...
CRISPR gene editing on the cusp of adding new gene drive tools to control disease-carrying mosquitoes
[D]espite decades of effort, vaccines have, for many [diseases like malaria and dengue], proved tricky to develop. Better, then, to ...
Viewpoint: ‘Magic promised by genetically pruning ‘defective’ embryos has fairy-dusted the eyes of even the most intelligent’ — Maybe it’s time to hit the pause button
Advances in genetics have been revolutionized in the last few years. First came CRISPR, which can edit single genes, possibly ...
Viewpoint: Patenting human embryo gene editing? Two rival universities push the ethical and legal debate
Two prominent groups of scientists, and two major American universities, are trying to patent methods for editing human embryos, with ...
Could we cut out cancer genes using CRISPR gene editing?
An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. Fusion oncogenes are cancer-causing genes that are made ...
Chronic pain is a pain: How gene editing offers hopeful alternative to addictive opioids
Chronic pain—defined as pain that persists for longer than 12 weeks despite medication or treatment—is estimated to affect some 20 ...
