Danielle Gerhard, PhD | Mar 22, 2024 | 10+ min read
With the help of directed evolution, scientists inch closer to developing viral vectors that can cross the human blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapy.
DNA passed to and from all kinds of organisms, even across kingdoms, has helped shape the tree of life, to a large and undisputed degree in microbes and also unexpectedly in multicellular fungi, plants, and animals.
Bacteria and their parasitic phages evolve just as quickly in a natural soil community as they do in a test tube, but other selective pressures can influence the changes
Tracking the genetic diversity and evolution of rhinoviruses can lead to a better understanding of viral evolution, the common cold, and more dangerous infections.
Clinical trials that target human endogenous retroviruses to treat multiple sclerosis, ALS, and other ailments are underway, but many questions remain about how these sequences may disrupt our biology.