CRISPR News and Research

Latest CRISPR News and Research

ERS Genomics and genOway enter CRISPR/Cas9 agreement

ERS Genomics Limited today announced a non-exclusive license agreement granting genOway past and future access to ERS Genomics’ CRISPR/Cas9 patent portfolio.

7 Jun 2021

African cichlid fish could serve as a premier model of social disorders

Beau Alward, University of Houston assistant professor of psychology, who holds a joint appointment in biology and biochemistry and is director of the Social Neuroscience Lab, has received the Beckman Young Investigator Award by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

4 Jun 2021

Scientists develop new gene drive with a built-in genetic barrier

CRISPR-based technologies offer enormous potential to benefit human health and safety, from disease eradication to fortified food supplies. As one example, CRISPR-based gene drives, which are engineered to spread specific traits through targeted populations, are being developed to stop the transmission of devastating diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

3 Jun 2021

Researchers develop new method for sequencing single cells in an efficient manner

RNA sequencing is a powerful technology for studying cells and diseases. In particular, single-cell RNA sequencing helps uncover the heterogeneity and diversity of our body.

1 Jun 2021

A novel multiplexed diagnostic approach for COVID-19

Researchers developed a platform for detecting the virus directly from a patient's sample as well as the immune response through antibodies such as IgG and IgM.

31 May 2021

New genetic editing tools could stop the spread of mosquito diseases

Since the onset of the CRISPR genetic editing revolution, scientists have been working to leverage the technology in the development of gene drives that target pathogen-spreading mosquitoes such as Anopheles and Aedes species, which spread malaria, dengue and other life-threatening diseases.

29 May 2021

Researchers use genomic sequencing technique to detect presence of various microbes

About 12,000 bacteria and viruses collected in a sampling from public transit systems and hospitals around the world from 2015 to 2017 had never before been identified, according to a study by the International MetaSUB Consortium, a global effort at tracking microbes that is led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

27 May 2021

CASdetec: new CRISPR-based SARS-CoV-2 detection platform detects nucleic acids with high sensitivity and specificity

To add to existing CRISPR-based nucleic acid detection protocols, a team of researchers recently established a new SARS-CoV-2 detection protocol based on their previously reported platform - CDetection (Cas12b-mediated DNA detection). They combined nucleic-acid amplification methods and sample treatment protocols with CDetection and established an integrated nucleic acid detection platform called CRISPR-assisted detection or CASdetec. CASdetec has a detection limit of 1×104 copies/mL for SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, without any observed cross-reactivity.

26 May 2021

Genetically engineered intestinal organoids reveal potential treatment targets against SARS-CoV-2

Using CRISPR/Cas9 and human intestinal organoids to study genes implicated in the biology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), researchers from the Netherlands identified a specific serine protease (TMPRSS2) as an attractive pan-coronavirus therapeutic target. Their exciting findings are available in a study currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

24 May 2021

Study demonstrates the negative effects of HERV activation on human brain development

Since our ancestors infected themselves with retroviruses millions of years ago, we have carried elements of these viruses in our genes - known as human endogenous retroviruses, or HERVs for short.

21 May 2021

Researchers use base editing to sustainably lower high LDL cholesterol levels

Base editing is a novel gene editing approach that can precisely change individual building blocks in a DNA sequence.

19 May 2021

New study will help investigate innate immune responses to viral infections

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) report the formation of human cells containing a green fluorescent protein or GFP (one of the most important proteins in biology and fluorescence imaging) genetically fused with two interferon stimulated genes (ISGs), namely Viperin and ISG15.

19 May 2021

New method to efficiently deliver drugs into cells

A new, patented method called Progressive Mechanoporation makes it possible to mechanically disrupt the membranes of cells for a short time period and let drugs or genes inside cells.

12 May 2021

Novel 'CopyCatcher' detects when precise copying of genetic information takes place in cells

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have laid the groundwork for a potential new type of gene therapy using novel CRISPR-based techniques.

11 May 2021

High-throughput system can regulate gene expression for treating sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have developed an integrated, high-throughput system to better understand and possibly manipulate gene expression for treatment of disorders such as sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. The research appears today in the journal Nature Genetics.

7 May 2021

Ravi Sheth receives 2020 Hertz thesis prize for transforming microbial research

Hertz Fellow Ravi Sheth says his lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard is "like a Willy Wonka factory of microbes" geared toward improving the taste and safety of food and beverages.

4 May 2021

Rapid and sensitive SARS-CoV-2 detection from saliva using CRISPR

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv by Edward Málaga Trillo et al. (April 29th, 2021), these methods are tested in combination with CRISPR-Cas detection in the field, demonstrating a sensitivity and specificity of 93.8% and 99%, respectively.

4 May 2021

New gene therapy restores dystrophin protein in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

UT Southwestern scientists successfully employed a new type of gene therapy to treat mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), uniquely utilizing CRISPR-Cas9-based tools to restore a large section of the dystrophin protein that is missing in many DMD patients.

3 May 2021

Could CRISPR be used as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral?

The potential of using this gene manipulation technology as a SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor or prophylactic is investigated in a review recently uploaded to the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine (April 25th, 2021) by Arnab Banerjee and colleagues.

2 May 2021

Correcting mutations in muscle stem cells using new gene-editing technology

A new gene-editing technique can be used to correct mutations in muscle stem cells, paving the way for the first potential cell therapy for genetic muscle disorders.

30 Apr 2021