• Health
  • Science
  • U.S.
  • Technology
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

Building a Better World

News and information

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Our Team

Huge breakthrough could change medicine forever

October 26, 2017 By Dan Taylor

Huge breakthrough could change medicine forever

Scientists have found a way to edit RNA with the molecular scissors known as CRISPR, and they think it has broad medical potential in a range of fields.

U.S. researchers have just made a major breakthrough by expanding the gene-editing CRISPR tool to also edit RNA, acting as a sort of “molecular scissors.” Cells use RNA to take DNA information and turn it into proteins, which makes it a valuable tool in the field of medicine that could forever change how we approach many different aspects of medical care.

Scientists call the new system “RNA Editing for Programmable A to I Replacement,” or REPAIR for short. REPAIR represents a significant step forward as an RNA editing platform with broad implications for research, biotechnology, and therapeutics, the authors wrote in their study.

So far, scientists have only tested REPAIR on mammals and not humans, but they are hopeful in its potential. Their findings were published in the journal Nature.

“The ability to correct disease-causing mutations is one of the primary goals of genome editing,” said senior author Feng Zhang  a core institute member at the Broad Institute and investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. “So far, we’ve gotten very good at inactivating genes, but actually recovering lost protein function is much more challenging. This new ability to edit RNA opens up more potential opportunities to recover that function and treat many diseases, in almost any kind of cell.”

Sharing

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Front Page, Health, Top Story

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Facebookrss

Search:

Recent Posts

  • NASA’s InSight spacecraft makes important course correction May 26, 2018
  • Scientists outraged at latest Trump decision May 15, 2018
  • Huge uproar erupts over major incident at Utah park May 13, 2018
  • Incredible moon discovery stuns scientists May 12, 2018
  • Authorities shocked by discovery about common painkiller May 6, 2018
  • Outrageous crocodile experiment stuns scientists May 5, 2018
  • Great Barrier Reef is too quiet, scientists say May 1, 2018
  • Massive Hiroshima bomb discovery shocks scientists May 1, 2018
  • Earth will be slammed by massive asteroid April 29, 2018
  • Teens are doing something incredibly alarming in schools April 29, 2018
  • Huge discovery in Tasmania stuns scientists April 28, 2018
  • Shocking discovery in New Jersey stuns authorities April 22, 2018
  • Huge volcanic explosion could wipe out the United States April 21, 2018
  • Huge controversy erupts over world’s hottest pepper April 15, 2018
  • SpaceX is about to do something astonishing April 15, 2018

Copyright © 2021 Jones Kilmartin Group, LLC · Metro Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress