CRISPR Gene Editing Can Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations

Science Daily May 29, 2017  Columbia University Medical Center

As CRISPR-Cas9 starts to move into clinical trials, a new study published in Nature Methods has found that the gene-editing technology can introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into the genome.

“We feel it’s critical that the scientific community consider the potential hazards of all off-target mutations caused by CRISPR, including single nucleotide mutations and mutations in non-coding regions of the genome,” says co-author Stephen Tsang, MD,

The Fertility Doctor Trying to Commercialize Three-Parent Babies

Bioethics.com June 26,2017  MIT Technology Review

A U.S. fertility doctor has started a company with a provocative vision for older women: become pregnant by having their DNA shifted into a young woman’s egg. The company, Darwin Life, was quietly established last year by John Zhang, also founder of a New York City clinic called New Hope Fertility Center, to deploy a cutting-edge fertility technology called “spindle nuclear transfer.” Originally developed as a way to prevent

Restoring Sight: CRISPR Could Reprogram Cells to Treat Retinitis pigmentosa

Genetic Literacy Project 4/28/17 University of California San Diego

Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, have reprogrammed mutated rod photoreceptors to become functioning cone photoreceptors, reversing cellular degeneration and restoring visual function in two mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa.

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Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited vision disorders caused by numerous mutations in more than 60 …

China Unveils Gene Technology to Create Superhumans with Hyper-Muscular Test-tube Dogs

Express.co.uk  by Rebecca Flood July 18, 2017

Armies of super-soldiers were a step closer to reality today after China announced it was genetically engineering hyper-muscular super-dogs.

The dogs, which are test tube bred in a lab, have twice the muscle mass of their natural counterparts and are considerably stronger and faster.

The canine genome has been especially difficult to engineer and replicate – but its close similarity to the human genome means it has long

First Human Embryos Edited in the U.S.

Rewriting Life  by Steve Connor  July 26, 2017

 

A still from a video shows gene-editing chemicals being injected into a human egg at the moment of fertilization. Scientists used the technique to correct DNA errors present in the father’s sperm.
OSHU

 

The first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon, MIT Technology Review has learned.

The effort,