A new gene editing technique called prime editing, tested in human and mouse cells, rewrites DNA by only cutting a single strand to add, remove, or replace base pairs. The method may allow researchers to edit more types of genetic mutations than existing genome-editing approaches such as CRISPR-Cas9, researchers report today (October 21) in Nature.
Emma Haapaniemi, a group leader at the Center for Molecular Medicine Norway who studies gene editing to treat rare diseases and wasn’t part of the work to develop prime editing, tells The Scientist that the approach is “innovative and novel,” though of course, the technique is “still a prototype” and will need to be refined.
The discovery that CRISPR-Cas9 could be harnessed and used to edit animal and human genes ushered in a new era of genetic research over the past several years. The technique has become an indispensable tool in many research laboratories, allowing ...
