LoginResearcher, heal thyself: meet the scientists studying their own diseases
24 August 2026 at 21:50
The post Researcher, heal thyself: meet the scientists studying their own diseases appeared first on MIT School of Science.
Normal view
Tackling rare genetic disorders with patient-focused science
24 August 2026 at 21:49
The post Tackling rare genetic disorders with patient-focused science appeared first on MIT School of Science.
Team uses AlphaFold AI to redesign gene-editing proteins to make them safer
24 July 2026 at 18:31
A couple of decades after the discovery of systems that could selectively target DNA, we're starting to see the first therapies based on gene editing. One challenge these developments have faced is safety. While we can make them pretty specific to the gene we want edited, the human genome is very large, and even rare DNA sequences can appear a couple of times by chance.
As a result, all the original gene-editing systems had known rates of what are called off-target effects, in which they simply edit the wrong sequence. This may be a low-probability event, but edit enough cells—and therapies generally have to edit many—and errors become inevitable.
A lot of effort has gone into finding ways to minimize or eliminate off-target edits. In a recent issue of Nature, researchers described modifying the AI protein-folding software AlphaFold to help identify key areas of gene-editing proteins responsible for off-target effects. Those areas were then modified to reduce the problems.
© Anton Vierietin
Team uses AlphaFold AI to redesign gene-editing proteins to make them safer
24 July 2026 at 18:31
A couple of decades after the discovery of systems that could selectively target DNA, we're starting to see the first therapies based on gene editing. One challenge these developments have faced is safety. While we can make them pretty specific to the gene we want edited, the human genome is very large, and even rare DNA sequences can appear a couple of times by chance.
As a result, all the original gene-editing systems had known rates of what are called off-target effects, in which they simply edit the wrong sequence. This may be a low-probability event, but edit enough cells—and therapies generally have to edit many—and errors become inevitable.
A lot of effort has gone into finding ways to minimize or eliminate off-target edits. In a recent issue of Nature, researchers described modifying the AI protein-folding software AlphaFold to help identify key areas of gene-editing proteins responsible for off-target effects. Those areas were then modified to reduce the problems.
© Anton Vierietin
New CRISPR Tool Gives Scientists Control Over Cellular Protein Production
17 July 2026 at 01:26
Controlling ribosomal RNA could help researchers target diseases driven by too little or too much protein production. Cells do not simply make proteins at a fixed pace. They continually adjust production to match their needs, and those changes can help determine whether a cell keeps dividing, adopts a specialized identity, or retains the developmental flexibility [...]Tiny Genetic Change Turns Female Mice Into Males, Scientists Discover
7 June 2026 at 16:58
A new study reveals that an extremely small change in a non-coding region of DNA can dramatically alter how sex develops in mice. How much can a single letter of DNA matter? According to new research from Bar-Ilan University, one misplaced genetic “letter” can completely change the course of sexual development. In a study published [...]- ZME Science
- Scientists Turn Hookworms Into Living Pharmacies That Can Deliver Medicine From Inside Humans
Scientists Turn Hookworms Into Living Pharmacies That Can Deliver Medicine From Inside Humans
5 June 2026 at 18:27
It's just crazy enough to work.DNA sequencing method lifts ‘veil’ from genome black box
29 January 2023 at 20:16
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have created a new DNA sequencing method called Chem-map, which can detect where and how small molecule drugs interact with the targeted genome. The method enables researchers to conduct in situ mapping of small molecule-genome interactions with unprecedented precision. Chem-map was used in the study to determine the direct […]
The post DNA sequencing method lifts ‘veil’ from genome black box appeared first on Science Bulletin.
