Slimmer Cas9 is Better Able to Squeeze into CellsApril 7, 2015We’ve already seen how CRISPR-Cas9 is making the headlines with its utility in human embryonic stem cell editing, but now it’s getting a makeover to make it even more attractive for use in humans. Current CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology is faced by two translational limitations. The first is targeting, where PAM sequences and sgRNA design […]
DNMT1 Loss is Lethal in Human But Not Mouse Embryonic Stem CellsApril 2, 2015Mouse models have been great to science, they’ve given insight into humans in ways simply not possible in humans. However, while there are striking similarities in the epigenetics of mice and men, there are also undoubtedly some fundamental differences. Now, a team from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard consisting of the labs of Alexander Meissner, J. Keith Joung, and John […]
Sex On the Brain: DNA Methylation Defines GenderMarch 31, 2015A talented team from the University of Maryland has added some strong molecular evidence that DNA methylation is an active player in setting the sexual behaviors you’re born with. Sexuality has always been a complex topic. Typically it refers to presence or absence of certain sex organs. However, the concept of gender is more complex, as […]
Boosting CRISPR’s Editing EffectivenessMarch 31, 2015Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you’ll know that CRISPR-Cas has been in the forefront of precise genome editing since its discovery in 1987 by Atsuo Nakata. However, as a technique it is not without shortcomings; while it has achieved a great deal of efficiency in the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway, its ability to achieve […]
Cas9: The Ultimate Gene Driving MachineMarch 30, 2015Add one more to all the amazing things CRISPR can do: it is also the ultimate driving machine. Provided, of course, that you are a gene, and that your destination is any chromosome where you do not currently reside. Gene Drives Spread by Overwriting Alleles A gene drive is when a gene on one chromosome […]
