The recent approval of a CRISPR-Cas9 therapy for sickle cell disease demonstrates that gene editing tools can do a superb job of knocking out genes to cure hereditary disease. But it's still not possible to insert whole genes ...
Biotechnology
Feb 20, 2024
0
148
An international research team has discovered that a previously overlooked repetitive DNA element known as Long Interspersed Nuclear Element (L1) helps maintain neural progenitor cells, and thus plays an important role in ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 14, 2024
0
29
The human genome, an intricate tapestry of genetic information for life, has proven to be a treasure trove of strange features. Among them are segments of DNA that can "jump around" and move within the genome, known as "transposable ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 30, 2024
0
61
Researchers mapped genetic blueprints for 51 species including cats, dolphins, kangaroos, penguins, sharks, and turtles, a discovery that deepens our understanding of evolution and the links between humans and animals.
Evolution
Jan 29, 2024
0
244
Each year, about 1 million individuals worldwide become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. To replicate and spread the infection, the virus must smuggle its genetic material into the cell nucleus and integrate ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 25, 2024
1
9
Using CRISPR, an immune system bacteria use to protect themselves from viruses, scientists have harnessed the power to edit genetic information within cells. In fact, the first CRISPR-based therapeutic was recently approved ...
Biotechnology
Jan 22, 2024
0
81
Two world-class institutions that call San Diego home have joined forces on an investigation into the DNA of koalas.
Plants & Animals
Jan 17, 2024
0
28
Lassa virus (LASV) is the pathogen that causes Lassa hemorrhagic fever, a disease endemic to West Africa, which causes approximately 5,000 deaths each year. At the CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology, the Uetrecht ...
Biochemistry
Dec 21, 2023
0
70
In 2007, Luciano Marraffini struck out on what was then a scientifically lonely path: to understand CRISPR, which had been discovered in bacteria only about a decade before.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 14, 2023
0
12
Researchers have sequenced the whitebark pine genome, presenting new opportunities to help the threatened, high-altitude tree endure environmental challenges.
Ecology
Dec 14, 2023
0
1
