Nuclease News and Research

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New insight into SARS-CoV-2 nsp14 protein opens door to new drugs

In a recent research paper currently available on bioRxiv* preprint server, scientists from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the University of Auckland in New Zealand identified several structural specificities of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may serve as viable starting points for the development and optimization of viral inhibitors against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other future threats.

16 Mar 2022

NETosis in COVID-19 and MIS-C

A new study investigates the role played by neutrophil extracellular traps formation and degradation in COVID-19.

7 Mar 2022

Scientists develop new drug delivery system for treating genetic diseases

A team of researchers led by Harvard and Broad Institute scientists has developed a new drug delivery system using engineered DNA-free virus-like particles (eVLPs) to package and deliver therapeutic levels of gene-editing proteins to animal models of disease.

22 Jan 2022

Virus-like particles as delivery vehicles for gene-editing

Scientists deliver gene-editing proteins through the use of engineered virus-like particles, which mediated efficient base editing both in vitro and in vivo.

13 Jan 2022

CRISPR-Cas enzyme-based diagnostics to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection

A recent review in the journal Life provided a detailed description of CRISPR-Cas-based diagnostic techniques to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but also emphasized the potential use of this technology towards developing effective molecular diagnostic platforms for any future pandemic.

13 Dec 2021

An assessment of pH-sensitive cationic lipid nanoparticles for drug delivery

A recent review looks at the molecular design of pH-sensitive cationic lipids and their applications for various tissues and cell types.

7 Dec 2021

Cas13 shines a light on SARS-CoV-2 variants

Now, a new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server describes and benchmarks SHINEv2, a Cas13-based nucleic acid diagnostic for SARS-CoV-2 detection. SHINEv2 combines temperature sample processing and lyophilized reagents to simplify the test procedure and assay distribution immensely.

4 Nov 2021

Researchers identify neurons and signaling pathways that make sexually receptive females more active

Scientists have known for a century that female animals become more active just as they are about to ovulate, a behavior that evolved to enhance their chances of mating when they are fertile.

15 Oct 2021

GIST researchers unravel coordination mechanism of base excision repair

A new study by researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in the Republic of Korea has revealed the mechanism of DNA repair by enzymes exonuclease III and polymerase I by utilizing single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET)-enabled dynamic observation.

14 Sep 2021

Neutrophil extracellular traps boost the bacterial killing power of macrophages

Like a spider trapping its prey, our immune system cells cooperate to capture and "eat" bacteria.

12 Sep 2021

Using two different CRISPR enzymes to develop a faster and easier COVID-19 diagnostic test

Frequent, rapid testing for COVID-19 is critical to controlling the spread of outbreaks, especially as new, more transmissible variants emerge.

5 Aug 2021

A new study reveals unintended CRISPR/Cas9 editing events

A recent study by researchers from Sweden and the United Kingdom shows that CRISPR/Cas9-based genomic engineering can prompt unwanted on-target effects, and highlights the complexity of human DNA repair mechanisms in the presence of the powerful prokaryotic Cas9 nuclease. The paper is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

4 Jul 2021

NIH researchers find that the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15’s uridine cleavage can evade the immune response

Research conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health in the USA shows that Nsp15 targets uridines (U). Following detection of U, Nsp15 can then further cleave a broad spectrum of RNA substrates.

8 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 limits type I and type III IFN protein biogenesis

New research led by Roy Parker of the University of Colorado Boulder finds that SARS-CoV-2 prevents the IFN response despite an increased presence of IFN-encoding mRNAs by suppressing transcriptional processes. Inhibition of IFN mRNAs triggers degradation from the activation of RNase L and the SARS-CoV-2 protein Nsp1.

26 Apr 2021

The potential of CRISPR-based diagnostic assays and treatment approaches against COVID-19

In their review paper recently published in the Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, a group of authors discusses currently available and forthcoming CRISPR-based diagnostic assays, as well as the possibility of using the CRISPR/Cas system as a salient treatment or prevention strategy in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 Apr 2021

New approach to scale up genome editing in tiny worms

Understanding the effects of specific mutations in gene regulatory regions - the sections of DNA and RNA that turn genes on and off - is important to unraveling how the genome works, as well as normal development and disease.

13 Apr 2021

Researchers unveil new SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor that targets viral immune evasion

In a recent quest for an effective antiviral compound, UK researchers have purified a specific enzyme of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) known as nsp15 and optimized fluorescent biochemical endoribonuclease assays to screen a custom chemical library with over 5,000 commercial compounds. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

11 Apr 2021

Scientists launch clinical trial of CRISPR gene correction therapy in patients with sickle cell disease

Scientists at UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UCLA have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to jointly launch an early phase, first-in-human clinical trial of a CRISPR gene correction therapy in patients with sickle cell disease using the patient's own blood-forming stem cells.

30 Mar 2021

Researchers develop new rapid and highly sensitive SAR-CoV-2 RNA detection test

In an alternative approach to the PCR-based methods, CRISPR-Cas proteins have been employed by a large team of researchers to identify the SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA in patient samples with PCR-derived cycle threshold (Ct) values up to 22 - corresponding to ~1600 copies/µl in the assay.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers discover previously-unknown function in enzyme critical for cancer growth

Considered the most lethal form of DNA damage, double-strand breaks must be repaired to prevent cell death. In developing therapies for hard-to-treat breast and ovarian cancers in patients with BRCA gene mutations, scientists aim to identify ways to keep cancer cells from using DNA break repair pathways.

11 Feb 2021