Gene Editing News and Research

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New gene-editing tool enables programming of sequential cuts over time

Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered a new gene-editing technique that allows for the programming of sequential cuts -- or edits -- over time.

23 Feb 2021

Researchers investigate how CF patients respond to COVID-19

So far, based on clinical data, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) don't appear to be especially susceptible to COVID-19, and when they do get infected, they don't seem to get sicker. But Ruobing (Ruby) Wang, MD, a physician-scientist in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, cares for patients with CF and thinks there is more to the story.

23 Feb 2021

Scientists discover new immunotherapy target for malignant brain tumors

Scientists say they have discovered a potential new target for immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors, which so far have resisted the ground-breaking cancer treatment based on harnessing the body's immune system.

15 Feb 2021

Suicide mosquitos may prevent the spread of Zika virus

In 2016, the World Health Organization called the Zika virus epidemic a "public health emergency of international concern" due to the virus causing birth defects for pregnant women in addition to neurological problems.

27 Jan 2021

Two enzymes fuel transition from pre-cancer stem cells to leukemia stem cells

Since stem cells can continually self-regenerate, making more stem cells, and differentiate into many different specialized cell types, they play an important role in our development and health.

26 Jan 2021

Researchers find microbiome-controlled anti-inflammatory subsets of astrocytes

Astrocytes are the most abundant type of cells within the central nervous system (CNS), but they remain poorly characterized.

26 Jan 2021

UC research team uses zebrafish to study a gene mutation that causes congenital scoliosis

Popular in aquariums all over the world, the zebrafish is native to South Asia. But here in a Cincinnati Children's laboratory, the freshwater variant plays a vital role in scientific discovery.

22 Jan 2021

Study reveals significant role of ADAMTS1 protein in uveal melanoma

Scientists from the University of Granada and GENYO (Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research), in a study led by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Manzaneque, have demonstrated the significant role of a protein called ADAMTS1 in uveal melanoma, one of the rarest and most aggressive cancers that exist, which develops in the eye.

15 Jan 2021

Researchers receive NIH grant to develop more effective flu vaccines

To build better vaccines, scientists want to know more about how our bodies make adequate numbers of effective, durable antibodies against the influenza virus.

11 Jan 2021

Researchers detect novel IRAK4 mutations in infant with encephalitis and HHV6 reactivation

An infant's odd case of rare encephalitis not typically found in children led researchers to discover never before seen genetic mutations and a more accurate technique to examine the IRAK4 gene responsible for innate immunity.

22 Dec 2020

Study provides new insights into the molecular underpinnings of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A UT Southwestern research team has catalogued gene activity in the skeletal muscle of mice, comparing healthy animals to those carrying a genetic mutation that causes Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) in humans.

21 Dec 2020

Researchers discover more accurate technique to study gene responsible for innate immunity

20 Dec 2020

Networks of genes involved in congenital heart disease revealed

Over two million babies, children, and adults in the United States are living with congenital heart disease--a range of birth defects affecting the heart's structure or function.

14 Dec 2020

Study: TMEM41B transmembrane protein is a critical factor for SARS-CoV-2 replication

A single protein that appears necessary for the COVID-19 virus to reproduce and spread to other cells is a potential weakness that could be targeted by future therapies.

10 Dec 2020

Scientists determine key molecular processes used by coronavirus to infect human cells

When a coronavirus--including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19--infects someone, it hijacks the person's cells, co-opting their molecular machinery for its own survival and spread.

9 Dec 2020

Free radicals may be important for the brain to remain adaptable

Reactive oxygen molecules, also known as "free radicals", are generally considered harmful. However as it now turns out, they control cellular processes, which are important for the brain's ability to adapt - at least in mice.

5 Dec 2020

CRISPR-based test could provide rapid, low-cost testing to help control COVID-19 spread

Imagine swabbing your nostrils, putting the swab in a device, and getting a read-out on your phone in 15 to 30 minutes that tells you if you are infected with the COVID-19 virus.

5 Dec 2020

Researchers develop a promising fix to CRISPR-Cas9's unwanted changes problem

A group of researchers developed a promising fix to CRISPR-Cas9's problem with unwanted genetic changes using a method that allows them to turn off gene-editing until it reaches key cell cycle phases where more accurate repairs are likely to happen.

4 Dec 2020

Researchers study SerpinB9 protein that could pave way to new immunotherapy approach

Immunotherapies have transformed the landscape of cancer treatment by allowing physicians to alter or augment patients' immune response to better attack malignant tumors.

2 Dec 2020

Telomere shortening helps prevent cancer in humans

As time goes by, the tips of your chromosomes--called telomeres--become shorter. This process has long been viewed as an unwanted side-effect of aging, but a recent study shows it is in fact good for you.

1 Dec 2020