Genomics and genome editing tools took center stage this year, from the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences honoring the development of base editing and prime editing to the controversy surrounding the de-extinction of so-called dire wolves. The Scientist explored these and how advances in AI-based tools can help scientists with their CRISPR experiments, Mexico’s ban on genetically modified corn, the history of TALENs, and more. Check out readers’ favorite genomics stories from 2025.
Romulus and Remus are the wolf pups created by Colossal Biosciences.
Colossal Biosciences
Dire Wolf De-Extinction Debate Divides Scientists
Earlier this year, biotech company Colossal Biosciences created a stir when they claimed to have brought back the dire wolf species from extinction. Researchers at the company said in an unpublished analysis that dire wolves share 99.5 percent of their genome with gray wolves, so the team used CRISPR to make 20 edits in 14 gray wolf genes. Using a domestic dog as a surrogate, the team created two so-called dire wolf puppies called Romulus and Remus. However, because the Colossal team picked the 14 genes only due to their effects on phenotypic traits such as body size and hair color and texture, other scientists don’t consider the animals as true dire wolves. The researchers at Colossal hope to apply the findings of their de-extinction program to help conservation efforts for currently endangered species like the red wolf.
CRISPR-GPT Turns Novice Scientists into Gene Editing Experts
CRISPR has accelerated scientists’ gene editing capability, but for those who are new to using the technology, it can have a steep learning curve. To help researchers master CRISPR quickly, scientists in academia joined forces with Google DeepMind to create CRISPR-GPT: a large language model that can guide researchers through the CRISPR gene editing process—for gene knockouts, base editing, prime editing, and epigenetic editing—in just one day. Researchers can ask the tool questions or give it simple prompts, and it will provide step-by-step instructions. In tests with junior researchers with no experience in gene editing, researchers achieved high editing efficiencies for their target genes. The authors of the paper hope that CRISPR-GPT can help researchers accelerate their gene editing work in the lab.
Mexican corn comes in many diverse varieties.
Carlos Blanco
Scientists Divided on Mexico’s Genetically Modified Corn Ban
Corn is a staple of Mexican cuisine. In addition to being a part of almost every meal, it comes in a variety of colors ranging from deep purples to bright oranges. Officials have worried that genetically modified corn that contains genes from unrelated species could affect this natural diversity in maize. Now, the Mexican government has escalated this concern by enacting a constitutional ban on genetically engineered corn, which has caused mixed reactions among scientists. This feature explores how scientists identified transgenes in Mexican corn, how the presence of these transgenes in corn affects the plants and animals around them, and how agricultural biotechnology can move forward into the future.
David Liu Wins 2025 Breakthrough Prize for Base Editing and Prime Editing
David Liu took home this year’s Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for leading the development of base editing and prime editing. Compared to CRISPR, which makes double-stranded breaks in the DNA to edit it, base editing and prime editing only make single-stranded breaks. Repairing a double-stranded break can introduce errors into the DNA, which makes base editing and prime editing a safer mode of gene editing for use in humans compared to CRISPR. Using base editing, researchers can change just one DNA base at a specific genomic location, and prime editing can change a longer sequence of DNA using an RNA template and a reverse transcriptase enzyme. Both base editing and prime editing have entered human clinical trials. Learn more about the history behind the development of these technologies in this story.
A Tale of How TALENs Launched the Genome Editing Revolution
Before CRISPR came on the scene, transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALENs) were one of the most exciting genome-editing tools around. But TALENs first got their start as TALEs—proteins produced by Xanthomonas species of bacteria that infect plants. This foundations article dives into the history of TALENs from their microbial origins to how they became more popular for gene editing than zinc finger domains and meganucleases, their use in expanding CAR T cell therapy, and how they became a launchpad for CRISPR. Even with the rise of other genome editing technologies, TALENs are still valuable tools with many researchers appreciating their balance of safety and precision.
Moss can produce recombinant proteins from cosmetics to therapeutic drugs.
Xuedong Li, Capital Normal University, Beijing
Moss Medicines: The Next Revolution in Biotech?
Move over bacteria and yeast, moss may be the best new culture system to produce recombinant proteins at scale. Ralf Reski, a plant biotechnologist at the University of Freiburg, first got interested in moss’s biotechnology potential as an undergraduate student. It doesn’t require any complex media to survive, and researchers can grow it quickly in bioreactors. Reski has worked with partners in biotechnology companies to use moss to produce healthy oils and founded his own company to make therapeutic proteins, including the first moss-produced drug, which entered clinical trials in 2015. He and his team have even used moss to create recombinant Factor H—a blood protein involved in regulating immune responses—which has been difficult for other groups to make. Reski has also produced moss-made spider silk protein, which has potential for biomedical applications.
