Tag: Gene Editing

A new study demonstrates that novel gene-editing tools can correct disease-causing mutations in mitochondrial DNA in primary human cells [1]. Smaller editing tools needed Genome-editing tools such as CRISPR were one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of this century. However, they are only good for editing nuclear DNA. Mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles, have their own...

Scientists have analyzed the differences between mammalian species that can regrow ear tissue after injury and those that cannot. Their findings can pave the way for novel regenerative therapies [1]. The lost art of regeneration Many animal species have amazing regenerative abilities. On the one side of the spectrum sit planarian worms: slice them up,...

In Cell Stem Cell, researchers have described how genetically engineered microglia can be used to deliver therapeutic proteins to the brain. The blood-brain barrier Delivering therapeutic compounds to the brain has a concern that is absent for other organs: the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which retains strict controls over the kinds of compounds that can reach...

In a groundbreaking Nature paper, researchers have developed synthetic regulatory sequences that could prevent targeted gene therapies from having effects in unwanted cell types. More than methylation While methylation is the most well-known regulator of gene expression, it isn't the only thing that determines what is to be expressed when. Cis-regulatory elements (CREs), so called...

A new study describes a method of genetically modifying a fraction of tumor cells, programming them to self-destruct and take therapy-resistant cells with them [1]. Resisting the resistance Advanced solid tumors remain the main challenge for modern oncology. It’s hard to deliver a therapy to all of the cells in a tumor, and then the...

The Journal Club returns on 25th July at 12:00 Eastern time to the Lifespan.io Facebook channel. Editing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has long been a challenge and systems such as CRISPR, which make editing regular DNA faster and easier, are very difficult to use when it comes to mtDNA. This month we are going to take...