Gene Editing News and Research

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Researchers find a novel way to tease out key factor involved in heart muscle maturation

Scientists around the world have been trying to replace damaged heart tissue using lab-made heart-muscle cells (cardiomyocytes), either injecting them into the heart or applying patches laced with the cells. But results to date have been underwhelming.

28 Sep 2018

Salk Institute researchers uncover molecular structure of RNA-based CRISPR system

Over the past several years, CRISPR-Cas9 has moved beyond the lab bench and into the public zeitgeist. This gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 holds promise for correcting defects inside individual cells and potentially healing or preventing many human ailments.

20 Sep 2018

Penn researchers find common thread linking almost all TNR expansion diseases

In a class of roughly 30 neurological disorders that includes ALS, Huntington's Disease and Fragile X Syndrome, the relevant mutant gene features sections of repeating base pair sequences known as short tandem repeats, or STRs. Healthy people have STRs of normal lengths distributed across their DNA.

19 Sep 2018

Researchers use CRISPR to identify gene that helps cells resist flavivirus infection

UT Southwestern researchers today report the first use of CRISPR genome-wide screening to identify a gene that helps cells resist flavivirus infection. That nasty class of pathogens includes West Nile virus, dengue fever, Zika virus, and yellow fever.

18 Sep 2018

New research sheds light on the causes of diabetes

The main cause of all forms of diabetes is pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction. Beta cells, found in the pancreatic islets, store and release insulin.

14 Sep 2018

Aging may have originated at the very beginning of life, says study

A new USC Dornsife study indicates that aging may have originated at the very beginning of the evolution of life, at the same time as the evolution of the first genes.

13 Sep 2018

New framework combines three existing methods to find cancer cell mutations

Cancer cells often have mutations in their DNA that can give scientists clues about how the cancer started or which treatment may be most effective. Finding these mutations can be difficult, but a new method may offer more complete, comprehensive results.

10 Sep 2018

Researchers uncover secret of immortality mechanism in aggressive glioblastoma

UC San Francisco researchers have discovered how a mutation in a gene regulator called the TERT promoter -- the third most common mutation among all human cancers and the most common mutation in the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma -- confers "immortality" on tumor cells, enabling the unchecked cell division that powers their aggressive growth.

10 Sep 2018

Research uncovers how the immune system detects DNA damage

Our immune system is working every day to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and parasites, but it can also detect when our own cells are damaged.

6 Sep 2018

GW researcher receives grant to examine link between liver fluke infection and bile duct cancer

Liver fluke infection is a major public health problem affecting more than 10 million people in Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand and Laos. Infection has been strongly linked to cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, an uncommon but aggressive form of cancer.

5 Sep 2018

Gene editing could prevent the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria

Researchers have found a way of preventing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a promising new discovery in the fight against deadly superbugs.

3 Sep 2018

Muscle dystrophy treatment in dogs with Crispr gene editing

Researchers in the United States have shown that genetically caused muscular dystrophy in dogs could be corrected using genetic editing tools. Muscular dystrophy is one of the most common fatal genetic conditions seen in children and is also seen in dogs

31 Aug 2018

Study yields therapeutic clues to combat drug resistance in rare aggressive cancer

Stephen Elledge, PhD, and his team did not set out to find therapies that could render tumors less resistant to therapy or make existing drugs more potent against a rare form of cancer. But these are precisely the clinical insights that their most recent study has yielded.

29 Aug 2018

Study reveals how gene variant affects chronic pain outcomes after trauma

The gene FKBP5 is a critical regulator of the stress response and affects how we respond to environmental stimuli. Previous studies have shown that certain variants of this gene play a role in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide risk, and aggressive behavior.

28 Aug 2018

MDA announces 34 new grants totaling $9.9 million to accelerate neuromuscular research

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today announced the award of 34 new grants totaling more than $9.9 million for its summer round of funding. These new grants represent a continued commitment by MDA to fund groundbreaking research that will accelerate treatments and cures for the more than 40 diseases in its program.

24 Aug 2018

Researchers develop faster method to grow brain cells from stem cells

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a faster method to generate functional brain cells, called astrocytes, from embryonic stem cells. Astrocytes play a significant role in neurodegenerative diseases.

22 Aug 2018

A form of vitamin B3 shows potential to prevent acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury, an often fatal condition without a specific treatment, affects up to 10 percent of all hospitalized adults in the United States and 30-40 percent in low-income countries.

21 Aug 2018

New CRISPR technology may help eliminate mutated gene sequence

In a new study in cells, University of Illinois researchers have adapted CRISPR gene-editing technology to cause the cell's internal machinery to skip over a small portion of a gene when transcribing it into a template for protein building.

17 Aug 2018

Study helps to better understand disease caused by Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

The disease consists of a production deficit of Alpha-1 antitrypsin, which is produced in the liver. The main role of this protein is to protect the lungs from degradation or inflammation caused by infections that attach lung tissue, as well as from external agents such a tobacco or pollution.

14 Aug 2018

Scientists find people's assumptions about DNA repair after CRISPR editing to be wrong

Despite high hopes and high investment in CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, scientists still have a lot to learn about how it works in humans.

31 Jul 2018