Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
For the first time, scientists were able to correct the genetic mutation that causes sickle cell disease in stem cells.
In a collaborative effort, researchers at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), and the University of Utah School of Medicine fixed the mutation in modified stem cells from patients with the condition using a CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing approach.
The study, "Selection-free genome editing of the sickle mutation in human adult hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells," was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The scientists hope to re-infuse patients with the modified stem cells and alleviate disease symptoms.
"We're very excited about the promise of this technology," Jacob Corn, senior author on the study and scientific director of the Innovative Genomics Initiative at UC Berkeley, said in a news release. "There is still a lot of work to be done before this approach might be used in the clinic, but we're hopeful that it will pave the way for new kinds of treatment for patients with sickle cell disease."
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Snotnose on Sunday October 23 2016, @03:17AM
It's 8:17 local time on a Saturday night. I'm listening to Steven Wilson on headphones being snarky on some random website. The Steven Wilson part is all good, the being snarky on some random website, not so much.
I need to get a life. Or 30 years younger, when having a life didn't involve so much physical activity.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.