CRISPR from head to toe

• Autores: Michael Le Page
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3146, 2017, pág. 8
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The race is on to edit our bodies to fight or prevent disease. Results from animal studies targeting the liver, muscles and brain suggest CRISPR genome-editing could revolutionise medicine, allowing us to treat or even cure a huge range of disorders. This powerful technique for changing DNA was only developed five years ago, but around 20 trials in people have already begun or will soon. However, most of these involve removing cells from a person, editing their DNA, and putting them back into the body. The challenge is delivering the CRISPR machinery to tissues inside the body. Editing genes with CRISPR requires at least two components: a protein that cuts DNA and a piece of RNA that guides it to the precise DNA site to make the cut. Proteins and RNAs are much larger than standard drugs and it's hard to get them inside cells