Turn on Your Genes with a Helping Hand from CRISPR-Cas9February 10, 2015We all know that the genome editing superhero CRISPR-Cas9 is a master of modifying the genome, but a recent paper from Zhang lab shows that it is more than just a one-trick pony. This latest research boosts the previously developed CRISPR-Cas9 transcriptional activators both in terms of the level of gene induction and in the […]
Keeping Tabs on Off-Target Effects of Genome EditingFebruary 5, 2015While the fashion and music tastes of the late 1980’s was rather questionable, it was a time of historic technological and societal change. Between the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the rise of the global computer network that we now call internet, a small group of researchers succeeded for the first time in generating […]
The Latest and Greatest: A Genome-Editing Cautionary TaleJanuary 26, 2015Genome-editing techniques, including CRISPR-Cas9 and TALENs, have leapt into the limelight through their ability to perform feats such as creating genetically engineered monkeys, ‘curing’ a human related disease in mice, and taking out huge sections of a genome. The two systems are both based on nucleases, with the CRISPR-Cas9 system using the bacterially derived Cas-9 nuclease […]
Genome Editing TimelineDecember 18, 2014Since its inception, the field of genetic engineering has introduced DNA to plenty of nips, tucks, and modifications all in the name of science. The latest evolution of these, genome editing, might be the most promising. Follow our favorite highlights in this rapidly moving application.
CRISPR Heavyweight Cas9 K.O.’s 30 Million BasesNovember 25, 2014Cas9 has already been shown to be able to knock out up to kilobase-size fragments of DNA, making it a big hitter in the world of genome editing. But one of the biggest enemies for researchers using such tools is the diploid karyotype, which impairs the study of the effects of a mutation or of […]
CRISPR and Stem Cells Team Up Against HIVNovember 17, 2014To this day Timothy Ray Brown, otherwise known as the Berlin Patient, is the only person cured after infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The cure came in a fortuitous form; a stem cell transplant used to treat his leukemia came from a donor with natural resistant to HIV. Soon after, researchers discovered that […]
A Little Negativity Can Go a Long Way with Protein-Based Genome EditingNovember 12, 2014In today’s culture negativity is usually frowned upon; maintaining a positive outlook is almost essential to a successful scientific career, but an innovative team of researchers have put some negativity to good use in improving transfection of genome editing complexes using negatively charged proteins and nucleic acid transfection reagents. Conventional protein-based therapeutics usually focus on […]
Polymerases are Key Influencers in Homologous Recombination EventsNovember 5, 2014Gene targeting by homologous recombination can be variable and researchers are itching to understand what key factors underlie variable success in editing experiments. Could it be an unfavorable chromatin environment, repetitive sequences, or maybe just bad luck? An unrelenting group of researchers at the University of Washington recently set out to shed some light on the genomic elements […]
in vivo CRISPR Takes Aim at Key DNA Methylation Players in the BrainOctober 31, 2014Adding to the ever growing potential of genome editing, one of the latest breakthroughs from the lab of Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard puts CRISPR/Cas9 to the test with an interesting research trifecta of: in vivo genome editing focused on the brain genome editing that targeted DNA methylation machinery including key readers and writers. both […]
A CRISPR Way to Create FusionsOctober 31, 2014As CRISPR continues to evolve into the laboratory version of a Swiss Army Knife, it’s not surprising that another innovative research team have used the approach in a slick way; in this case to engineer of oncogenic chromosomal rearrangements. Chromosomal rearrangements, gene fusions, deletions and inversions are classical hallmarks of cancer. These re-arrangements lead to […]