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Category: genetics – Page 449

Usually, when we’ve referred to Crispr, we’ve really meant Crispr/Cas9—a riboprotein complex composed of a short strand of RNA and an efficient DNA-cutting enzyme. It did for biology and medicine what the Model T did for manufacturing and transportation; democratizing access to a revolutionary technology and disrupting the status quo in the process. Crispr has already been used to treat cancer in humans, and it could be in clinical trials to cure genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia as soon as next year.

But like the Model T, Crispr Classic is somewhat clunky, unreliable, and a bit dangerous. It can’t bind to just any place in the genome. It sometimes cuts in the wrong places. And it has no off-switch. If the Model T was prone to overheating, Crispr Classic is prone to overeating.

Even with these limitations, Crispr Classic will continue to be a workhorse for science in 2018 and beyond. But this year, newer, flashier gene editing tools began rolling off the production line, promising to outshine their first-generation cousin. So if you were just getting your head around Crispr, buckle up. Because gene-editing 2.0 is here.

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New view on mitochondrial DNA could put the brakes on mutations that drive diseases. Scientists perform landmark sequencing of mitochondrial DNA and discover surprising facts.

Summary: New view on mitochondrial DNA could help put the brakes on mutations that drive diseases. [Author: Brady Hartman. This article first appeared on LongevityFacts.]

DNA sequences between mitochondria inside a single cell are vastly different, reported scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This discovery will help to illuminate the underlying mechanisms of diseases that start with mutations in mitochondrial DNA and provide clues about how patients might respond to specific treatments. The researchers published their findings in the journal Cell Reports this week.

Mutant Mitochondrial DNA

Continue reading “Researchers Discover Key to Diseases in Mitochondrial DNA Mutations” | >

In a historic move, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a pioneering gene therapy for a rare form of childhood blindness, the first such treatment cleared in the United States for an inherited disease.

The approval signals a new era for gene therapy, a field that struggled for decades to overcome devastating setbacks but now is pushing forward in an effort to develop treatments for haemophilia, sickle-cell anaemia, and an array of other genetic diseases.

Yet the products, should they reach patients, are likely to carry stratospheric prices – a prospect already worrying consumer advocates and economists.

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Scientists have identified a mysterious genetic mutation that effectively negates the sensation of pain, enabling people with the rare anomaly to persevere effortlessly through extreme physical discomfort.

The gene variant – identified in an Italian family who feels almost no pain even when seriously injured – could help scientists find new treatments for chronic pain that mimic the family’s unusual gift.

“We have spent several years trying to identify the gene that is the cause of this,” molecular biologist James Cox from University College London told The Independent.

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The genetic atlas revealed new information about health risks, ancient political borders, and the influence of Vikings.

Learn how your family history is connected to the human journey with National Geographic’s Geno 2.0 DNA ancestry kit.

A new “DNA atlas” of Ireland is revealing some of the surprising ways historic kingdoms have influenced populations on the island—and it offers the first genetic evidence that Vikings intermingled with ancient Irish peoples.

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