CRISPR · 3articles

A recent study presents a new method called Peptide-Assisted Genome Editing (PAGE). It is an enhanced CRISPR-Cas system and allows for efficient and safe gene editing in primary human cells, including T cells, and haematopoietic progenitor cells, with high editing efficiencies of up to 98%.

Rapid diagnosis of cancer can save lives. Now, engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new nanoparticle sensor that can detect cancer and other diseases with a simple urine test. Barcoded DNA administered to patients using nanoparticles is cleaved and excreted in urine where it is analysed.

Scientists developed a new CRISPR-based system called KaryoCreate to study chromosome aneuploidy. Using guide RNAs, they could recruit mutant kinetochore proteins to chromosomes in cultured cells. This mutant protein results in improper segregation of chromosomes leading to aneuploidy. Researchers can use this as an experimental model to study aneuploidy in the context of cancer and beyond.