I heard a story on the radio about this--it's a technique that allows scientists to edit genes in a precise way. Though it's fairly early days yet, this discovery is very likely to have a huge impact in the future. The video below gives a pretty clear explanation of the technique.
For more detail, a story about the background of CRISPR and how it was developed: "The Genesis Engine" |
Wired (http://www.wired.com/2015/07/crispr-dna-editing-2/)
Some amazing things could be created with this technique, but as with any powerful tool, extreme care must be exercised. It's simple enough to do that control over what is done with it may not be easy.
A recent article described some cutting edge experiments with mosquito DNA. Mosquitos transmit malaria as is well known. Replacing a certain DNA element with a different one eliminates the ability to carry the malaria element. The modified mosquito is now unable to transmit the carrier trait to its eggs. That means that new hatches will not be malaria carriers. Malaria is one of the top causes of human deaths.
There are both humanitarian and sociological implications with this. Millions of lives and miseries will be saved, but annual human population will be substantially expanded.
Yes, they're using the CRISPR-Cas9 technique to genetically modify mosquito vectors of malaria (http://www.newsweek.com/researchers-genetically-modify-mosquitoes-be-malaria-resistant-398998).
Here we go.
"Human gene editing gets green light" |
Science News (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/human-gene-editing-gets-green-light)
QuoteHuman gene-editing research, even on embryos, is needed and should go ahead, with one major caveat: No pregnancies can result, leaders of an international summit on the topic said December 3.
In recent years, scientists have devised increasingly precise molecular scissors for cutting and pasting DNA. These tools, especially the guided scissors known as CRISPR/Cas9, have become so cheap and easy to use that it may be possible to use them to correct genetic diseases.
Many see the technology as a medical boon; others, though, say that the prospect of designer babies and tinkering with the DNA of future generations should be out of bounds (SN: 5/30/15, p. 16 (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/editing-human-germline-cells-sparks-ethics-debate)). The U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Medicine, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the United Kingdom's Royal Society convened the summit (http://nationalacademies.org/gene-editing/Gene-Edit-Summit/index.htm) to discuss the state of the science as well as ethical, legal and regulatory considerations surrounding gene-editing technology.
Gene editing of human body, or somatic, cells, which do not pass genetic information to future generations, is already in clinical trials. Most of those studies have involved older technologies and cells that were edited outside the body and then given to a patient later, such as a baby with leukemia treated with edited immune cells (SN: 12/12/15, p. 7 (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gene-editing-helps-baby-battle-cancer)).
[Continues . . . (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/human-gene-editing-gets-green-light)]
Sweet! This could be interesting in a few decades.
Quote from: Crow on December 06, 2015, 09:47:56 PM
Sweet! This could be interesting in a few decades.
It may be sooner than that.
"CRISPR Successfully Treats Genetic Disorder in Adult Mammal" |
Science World Report (http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/35335/20160101/crispr-successfully-treats-genetic-disorder-adult-mammal.htm)
QuoteCRISPR, the gene editing tool, has long been touted as something that could change the way we treat genetic disorders. Now, scientists have used CRISPR to treat an adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
In this latest study, the researchers used CRISPR to correct genetic mutations in cultured cells from Duchenne patients, and other labs had corrected genes in single-cell embryos in a laboratory environment. But the latter approach is currently unethical to attempt in humans, and the former faces many obstacles in delivering treated cells back to muscle tissues.
Another approach, which involves taking CRISPR directly to the affected tissues through gene therapy techniques, also faces challenges, particularly with delivery.
In this latest study, the researchers overcame several of these obstacles by using a non-pathogenic carrier called adeno-associated virus, or AAV, to deliver the gene-editing system.
[Continues . . . (http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/35335/20160101/crispr-successfully-treats-genetic-disorder-adult-mammal.htm)]
A recent NPR program with a guest who is a CRISPR authority said that bacteria, within humans, often have smaller bacteria or perhaps viruses that attack them. That is reminiscent of the mathematical infinite regression concept....or the cute little poem about the little demons that bitem' and to ad finitem'........
The following isn't really a science story--it's almost entirely about the intersection of science and money. Anyway, it gives some indication of how important and valuable investors and biotech companies believe the CRISPR technique will be. "The Battle Over CRISPR Could Make Or Break Some Biotech Companies" | FiveThirtyEight (http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-battle-over-crispr-could-make-or-break-some-biotech-companies/)
It's looking like the first safety trial of the CRISPR technique on humans will start soon. Amazing.
"First human CRISPR trial given go-ahead: your questions answered" |
New Scientist (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2094832-first-human-crispr-trial-given-go-ahead-your-questions-answered/)
QuoteThe CRISPR gene editing revolution is happening even faster than we expected. Many thought human trials of therapies using the technique were still years away. But yesterday, a US federal committee gave its nod of approval – meaning the first trial could start later this year. The therapy is designed to treat cancer but the main purpose of this first trial is safety. If it succeeds, it will encourage many other groups to start testing treatments that involve CRISPR.
[Continues . . . (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2094832-first-human-crispr-trial-given-go-ahead-your-questions-answered/)]
Somehow, I thought this would be the domain of nanorobots. Perhaps it will though, no? After all, in theory, those could be a formidable vessel for delivering treatment where it's required.
For the aforementioned reason of unsustainable population growth, I do hope any successful treatment involving gene therapy remains hugely expensive until the less civilized societioes learn to control their birth rates. Still, color me fascinated.
The CRISPR-Cas9 gene manipulation technique apparently isn't as precise as it might be.
"CRISPR gene editing can cause hundreds of unintended mutations" |
PhysOrg (https://phys.org/news/2017-05-crispr-gene-hundreds-unintended-mutations.html)
QuoteAs 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, PhD, the Laszlo T. Bito Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and associate professor of pathology and cell biology at Columbia University Medical Center and in Columbia's Institute of Genomic Medicine and the Institute of Human Nutrition.
CRISPR-Cas9 editing technology—by virtue of its speed and unprecedented precision—has been a boon for scientists trying to understand the role of genes in disease. The technique has also raised hope for more powerful gene therapies that can delete or repair flawed genes, not just add new genes.
The first clinical trial to deploy CRISPR is now underway in China, and a U.S. trial is slated to start next year. But even though CRISPR can precisely target specific stretches of DNA, it sometimes hits other parts of the genome. Most studies that search for these off-target mutations use computer algorithms to identify areas most likely to be affected and then examine those areas for deletions and insertions.
"These predictive algorithms seem to do a good job when CRISPR is performed in cells or tissues in a dish, but whole genome sequencing has not been employed to look for all off-target effects in living animals," says co-author Alexander Bassuk, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics at the University of Iowa.
[Continues . . . (https://phys.org/news/2017-05-crispr-gene-hundreds-unintended-mutations.html)]
Better to know now than later. But, bugger it!
Yeah, have to wait a bit longer to get to the sci-fi level of human gene sculpting and setting exact specs for babies . . .
But also for all the therapeutic stuff as well.
The CRISPR technique has been tested for use in eliminating genetic disease
in vitro for human embryos. It appears to have worked.
"Human embryos edited to stop disease" |
BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40802147)
QuoteScientists have, for the first time, successfully freed embryos of a piece of faulty DNA that causes deadly heart disease to run in families.
It potentially opens the door to preventing 10,000 disorders that are passed down the generations.
The US and South Korean team allowed the embryos to develop for five days before stopping the experiment.
The study hints at the future of medicine, but also provokes deep questions about what is morally right.
Science is going through a golden age in editing DNA thanks to a new technology called Crispr, named breakthrough of the year in just 2015.
Its applications in medicine are vast and include the idea of wiping out genetic faults that cause diseases from cystic fibrosis to breast cancer.
[Continues . . . (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40802147)]
The full paper is available through a link ("described in the journal Nature") in the BBC story.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608350/first-human-embryos-edited-in-us/
Here is a related article. I couldn't read because my phone won't load it but it gets around.
Moving along (autoplay video at link, though the video seems decent enough).
"CRISPR Gene Editing Fixes Muscular Dystrophy in Dogs. Are Humans Next?" |
TIME (http://time.com/5382101/crispr-muscular-dystrophy-in-dogs/)
QuoteThe powerful gene editing technology CRISPR is one small step closer to treating a human disease.
In a new paper published in Science, researchers led by Eric Olson, professor and chair of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, reported that he and his team successfully used CRISPR to correct the genetic defect responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in four beagles bred with the disease-causing gene. It's the first use of CRISPR to treat muscular dystrophy in a large animal. (Previous studies had tested the technology on rodents.) In varying degrees, the genetic therapy halted the muscle degradation associated with the disease.
[Continues . . . (http://time.com/5382101/crispr-muscular-dystrophy-in-dogs/)]
Looks promising.
Can the shit brained asshat element be removed from the DNA?
I failed to note this story here when it first developed. Anyway, more information has come out and, well, it's not great.
"The CRISPR Baby Scandal Gets Worse by the Day" |
The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/12/15-worrying-things-about-crispr-babies-scandal/577234/)
QuoteBefore last week, few people had heard the name He Jiankui. But on November 25, the young Chinese researcher became the center of a global firestorm when it emerged that he had allegedly made the first crispr-edited babies, twin girls named Lulu and Nana. Antonio Regalado broke the story (https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612458/exclusive-chinese-scientists-are-creating-crispr-babies/) for MIT Technology Review, and He himself described the experiment (http://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/human-genome-editing-summit/2018-hong-kong/jiankui-he-human-genome-editing/) at an international gene-editing summit (http://www.nationalacademies.org/gene-editing/2nd_summit/index.htm) in Hong Kong. After his talk, He revealed that another early pregnancy is under way.
It is still unclear if He did what he claims to have done. Nonetheless, the reaction was swift and negative. The CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna says she was "horrified (https://twitter.com/tictoc/status/1067772480511766528)," NIH Director Francis Collins said the experiment was "profoundly disturbing (https://twitter.com/NIHDirector/status/1067809726489141253)," and even Julian Savulescu, an ethicist who has described gene-editing research as "a moral necessity (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491050/)," described He's work as "monstrous."
Such a strong reaction is understandable, given the many puzzling and worrying details about the experiment. Even without any speculation about designer babies (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/us-scientists-edit-human-embryos-with-crisprand-thats-okay/535668/) and Gattaca-like futures that may or may not come to pass, the details about what has already transpired are galling enough. If you wanted to create the worst possible scenario for introducing the first gene-edited babies into the world, it is difficult to imagine how you could improve on this 15-part farce.
[Continues . . . (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/12/15-worrying-things-about-crispr-babies-scandal/577234/)]
It was only a matter of time :(
A couple of articles about how combining the CRISPR-Cas9 technique with another called a "gene drive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_drive)" may be an effective tool for managing troublesome species like the anopheles mosquito and the cane toad. There are of course some profound ethical questions around this development, which seems to always be the case with these powerful genetic technologies.
"The CRISPR machines that can wipe out entire species" |
c|net (https://www.cnet.com/news/the-crispr-machines-that-can-wipe-out-entire-species/)
QuoteCharles Darwin had no idea what a gene was. If we dropped the father of evolution into 2019, the idea that humans can willfully alter the genes of an entire species would surely seem like wizardry to him.
But CRISPR gene drives -- a new, inconceivably powerful technique that forces genes to spread through a population -- have the ability to do just that. Gene drives allow us to hone the blunt edges of natural selection for our own purposes, potentially preventing the spread of disease or eradicating invasive pests.
Yet as with any science performed at the frontier of our knowledge, we are still coming to terms with how powerful CRISPR gene drives might be. Playing the game of genomes means we may, in the future, choose which species live and which die -- a near-unbelievable capability that scientists and ethicists agree presents us with unique moral, social and ethical challenges.
[Continues . . . (https://www.cnet.com/news/the-crispr-machines-that-can-wipe-out-entire-species/)]
"Gene Drive" |
Scientific American (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gene-drive1/)
QuoteResearch into a genetic engineering technology that can permanently change the traits of a population or even an entire species is progressing rapidly. The approach uses gene drives—genetic elements that pass from parents to unusually high numbers of their offspring, thereby spreading through populations rather quickly. Gene drives occur naturally but can also be engineered, and doing so could be a boon to humanity in many ways. The technology has the potential to stop insects from transmitting malaria and other terrible infections, enhance crop yields by altering pests that attack plants, render corals resistant to environmental stress, and keep invasive plants and animals from destroying ecosystems. Yet investigators are deeply aware that altering or even eliminating a species could have profound consequences. In response, they are developing rules to govern the transfer of gene drives from the laboratory into future field tests and wider use.
[Continues . . . (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gene-drive1/)]
A call for a moratorium on editing human germlines.
"Adopt a moratorium on heritable genome editing" |
Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00726-5)
QuoteWe call for a global moratorium on all clinical uses of human germline editing — that is, changing heritable DNA (in sperm, eggs or embryos) to make genetically modified children.
By 'global moratorium', we do not mean a permanent ban. Rather, we call for the establishment of an international framework in which nations, while retaining the right to make their own decisions, voluntarily commit to not approve any use of clinical germline editing unless certain conditions are met.
To begin with, there should be a fixed period during which no clinical uses of germline editing whatsoever are allowed. As well as allowing for discussions about the technical, scientific, medical, societal, ethical and moral issues that must be considered before germline editing is permitted, this period would provide time to establish an international framework.
[Continues . . . (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00726-5)]
The story about this (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-geneediting-embryos-idUSKCN1QU2HJ) from
Reuters quotes dissenting views:
QuoteSome scientists called the proposed ban unnecessary, saying it would not prevent a scientist bent on using the technology from editing DNA in embryos to prevent disease or enhance traits of a child, as was the case with Chinese researcher He Jiankui.
"We do not think a moratorium would have deterred He Jiankui, who acted secretively and in breach of a clear scientific consensus that germline genome editing should not be used in the clinic at this time," Sarah Norcross, director of Britain-based Progress Educational Trust, said in a statement.
Helen O'Neill, program director for Reproductive Science and Women's Health at University College London, said the proposal ignores the fact that a global ban already exists.
O'Neill said there were legal and ethical measures in place in China and that He broke many of these rules. "It was not that he did this because the law allowed it."
[Link to full article. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-geneediting-embryos-idUSKCN1QU2HJ)]
A different technique in the CRISPR family--Cas-3. This story isn't as dramatic as some in this thread, but it does chronicle another advance in gene editing technology.
"CRISPR-Cas3 innovation holds promise for disease cures, advancing science" |
ScienceDaily (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190411172519.htm)
QuoteA Cornell researcher, who is a leader in developing a new type of gene editing CRISPR system, and colleagues have used the new method for the first time in human cells -- a major advance in the field.
The new system, called CRISPR-Cas3, can efficiently erase long stretches of DNA from a targeted site in the human genome, a capability not easily attainable in more traditional CRISPR-Cas9 systems. Though robust applications may be well in the future, the new system has the potential to seek out and erase such ectopic viruses as herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr, and hepatitis B, each of which is a major threat to public health.
"My lab spent the past ten years figuring out how CRISPR-Cas3 works. I am thrilled that my colleagues and I finally demonstrated its genome editing activity in human cells," said Ailong Ke, professor of molecular biology and genetics and a corresponding author of a paper published April 8 in the journal Molecular Cell. "Our tools can be made to target these viruses very specifically and then erase them very efficiently. In theory, it could provide a cure for these viral diseases."
[Continues . . . (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190411172519.htm)]
Further progress:
"New CRISPR tool has the potential to correct almost all disease-causing DNA glitches, scientists report" |
STAT (https://www.statnews.com/2019/10/21/new-crispr-tool-has-potential-to-correct-most-disease-causing-dna-glitches/)
QuoteA new form of the genome-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 appears to significantly expand the range of diseases that could be treated with the technology, by enabling scientists to precisely change any of DNA's four "letters" into any other and insert or delete any stretch of DNA — all more efficiently and precisely than previous versions of CRISPR. Crucially, scientists reported on Monday, it accomplishes all that without making genome-scrambling cuts in the double helix, as classic CRISPR and many of its offshoots do.
News about this "prime editing" began circulating among CRISPR-ites this month, when the inventors unveiled it at a meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Since then, "the excitement has been palpable," said genetic engineer Fyodor Urnov of the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the research.
"I can't overstate the significance of this," he said, likening the creation of ever-more kinds of genome-editing technologies to the creation of superheroes with different powers: "This could be quite a useful Avenger for the genome-editing community, especially in translating basic research to the clinic" to cure diseases ranging from sickle cell to cystic fibrosis.
Prime editing's inventors, led by David Liu of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Andrew Anzalone, say it has the potential to correct 89% of known disease-causing genetic variations in DNA, from the single-letter misspelling that causes sickle cell to the superfluous four letters that cause Tay-Sachs disease. All told, they report making 175 edits in human and mouse cells.
[Continues . . . (https://www.statnews.com/2019/10/21/new-crispr-tool-has-potential-to-correct-most-disease-causing-dna-glitches/)]
Noted in a post (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=14150.msg382684#msg382684) here in December of last year, He Jiankui claims to have used CRISPR-Cas9 to modify the genome of a pair of twins. He has now been sentenced to prison by a Chinese court.
"China jails scientist who gene-edited babies" |
Agence France-Presse (https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/china-jails-scientist-who-gene-edited-babies-doc-1nd0i72)
QuoteA Chinese court on Monday sentenced the scientist who claimed to be behind the world's first gene-edited babies to three years in prison for illegal medical practice, state media reported.
He Jiankui, who shocked the scientific community last year by announcing the birth of twin girls whose genes had allegedly been altered to confer immunity to HIV, was also fined three million yuan ($430,000), Xinhua news agency said.
He, who was educated at Stanford University, was sentenced by a court in Shenzhen for "illegally carrying out the human embryo gene-editing intended for reproduction", Xinhua said.
Two of his fellow researchers were also sentenced. Zhang Renli was handed a two-year jail term and fined one million yuan while Qin Jinzhou was given 18 months, suspended for two years, and fined 500,000 yuan.
The trio had not obtained qualifications to work as doctors and had knowingly violated China's regulations and ethical principles, according to the court verdict, Xinhua said.
They had acted "in the pursuit of personal fame and gain" and seriously "disrupted medical order", it said.
The researchers had forged ethical review materials and recruited couples where the husband was HIV positive for their gene-editing experiments.
The trial was held behind closed doors as the case related to "personal privacy", Xinhua said.
[. . .]
He claimed a medical breakthrough that could "control the HIV epidemic", but it was not clear whether he had even been successful in immunising the babies against the virus because the team did not reproduce the gene mutation that confers this resistance, scientists told the MIT Technology Review.
While the team targeted the right gene, they did not replicate the "Delta 32" variation required, instead creating novel edits whose effects are not clear.
Moreover, CRISPR remains an imperfect tool because it can lead to unwanted or "off-target" edits, making its use in humans hugely controversial.
In 2015, a UN bioethics committee called for a stop to human embryo gene editing for fears it could be used to modify the human race.
But a year later Britain granted scientists permission to edit embryo DNA in research on the causes of infertility and miscarriages.
And in 2017, a US science advisory committee said such modification should be allowed in future to eliminate disease.
In November this year the World Health Organization said it would create a global registry to track research into human genetic manipulation following the backlash to He's announcement.
[Link to full story. (https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/china-jails-scientist-who-gene-edited-babies-doc-1nd0i72)]
Some detail about the failures of He Jiankui and his team. As a bonus, the article gives a decent description of how CRISPR-Cas9 works.
"China's failed gene-edited baby experiment proves we're not ready for human embryo modification" |
The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/chinas-failed-gene-edited-baby-experiment-proves-were-not-ready-for-human-embryo-modification-128454)
QuoteMore than a year ago, the world was shocked by Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui's attempt to use CRISPR technology to modify human embryos and make them resistant to HIV, which led to the birth of twins Lulu and Nana.
Now, crucial details have been revealed in a recent release of excerpts (https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614764/chinas-crispr-babies-read-exclusive-excerpts-he-jiankui-paper/) from the study, which have triggered a series of concerns about how Lulu and Nana's genome was modified.
[. . .]
He Jiankui and his colleagues were targeting a gene called CCR5, which is necessary for the HIV virus to enter into white blood cells (lymphocytes) and infect our body.
One variant of CCR5, called CCR5 Δ32, is missing a particular string of 32 "letters" of DNA code. This variant naturally occurs in the human population, and results in a high level of resistance to the most common type of HIV virus.
The team wanted to recreate this mutation using CRISPR on human embryos, in a bid to render them resistant to HIV infection. But this did not go as planned, and there are several ways they may have failed.
First, despite claiming in the abstract of their unpublished article that they reproduced the human CCR5 mutation, in reality the team tried to modify CCR5 close to the Δ32 mutation.
As a result, they generated different mutations, of which the effects are unknown. It may or may not confer HIV resistance, and may or may not have other consequences.
Worryingly, they did not test any of this, and went ahead with implanting the embryos. This is unjustifiable.
[Continues . . . (https://theconversation.com/chinas-failed-gene-edited-baby-experiment-proves-were-not-ready-for-human-embryo-modification-128454)]
On now, Another Installment of Science Stand Up:
(https://scontent.fpoa4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/91788054_3171705179506482_1202198287164112896_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_sid=ca434c&_nc_ohc=UeyLZ_k4JB4AX8WE8Nd&_nc_ht=scontent.fpoa4-1.fna&oh=432ffc8bf4cca3daa9e77319279be653&oe=5EB03A9C)
I love bad jokes ;D
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on April 05, 2020, 01:33:40 PM
On now, Another Installment of Science Stand Up:
(https://scontent.fpoa4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/91788054_3171705179506482_1202198287164112896_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_sid=ca434c&_nc_ohc=UeyLZ_k4JB4AX8WE8Nd&_nc_ht=scontent.fpoa4-1.fna&oh=432ffc8bf4cca3daa9e77319279be653&oe=5EB03A9C)
I love bad jokes ;D
:doh: ;D
A longish article about using CRISPR as a component of a SARS-CoV-2 detection test. Reads somewhat like a self-promotion, but the details of how they're using CRISPR in the test are interesting.
"Rapid home-based coronavirus tests are coming together in research labs — we're working on analyzing spit using advanced CRISPR gene editing techniques" |
The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/rapid-home-based-coronavirus-tests-are-coming-together-in-research-labs-were-working-on-analyzing-spit-using-advanced-crispr-gene-editing-techniques-138064)
QuoteA desperately needed tool to curb the COVID-19 pandemic is an inexpensive home-based rapid testing kit that can detect the coronavirus without needing to go to the hospital.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a few home sample collection kits but a number of researchers, including myself, are using the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR to make home tests. If they work, these tests could be very accurate and give people an answer in about an hour.
I am a biomolecular scientist with training in pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical engineering and my lab focuses on developing next-generation of technologies for detecting and treating cancer, genetic and infectious diseases.
The COVID-19 disease is caused by a coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Unlike humans which carry their genetic material encoded in DNA, the coronavirus encodes theirs in a related molecule called RNA.
My research group recently engineered a sensitive CRISPR-based technology, that we named CRISPR-ENHANCE, and used it to create a rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Our assay works like a pregnancy test and shows two purple colored lines if the sample is positive for the virus. Using our technology, I envision developing a test kit that would allow rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in saliva within 45-60 minutes at home without needing any expensive equipment.
[Continues . . . (https://theconversation.com/rapid-home-based-coronavirus-tests-are-coming-together-in-research-labs-were-working-on-analyzing-spit-using-advanced-crispr-gene-editing-techniques-138064)]