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: 1) by sbgen on Sunday October 23 2016, @04:43AM
Time to whine aloud. I will have to wait for Monday to read the article-it is lovingly placed behind paywall. The cure for SCD might arrive ealrier than for the publication problem :-(( :-((
Warning: Not a computer expert, but got to use it. Yes, my kind does exist.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 23 2016, @04:53AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sci-Hub [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Sunday October 23 2016, @12:27PM
The second link is still good here.