Category Health/Medical

An illustration of how CAS-12A works with DNA. Illustration by Jenna Luecke, University of Texas at Austin

Scientists have found conclusive evidence that Cas9, the most popular enzyme currently used in CRISPR gene editing, is less effective and precise than one of the lesser-used CRISPR proteins, Cas12a. Because Cas9 is more likely to edit the wrong part of a plant’s or animal’s genome, disrupting healthy functions, the scientists make the case that switching to Cas12a would lead to safer and more effective gene editing.

“The overall goal is to find the best enzyme that nature gave us and then make it better still, rather than taking the first one that was discovered through historical accident,” said Ilya Finkelstein, an assistant professor of molecular biosciences and a co-author of the ...

Highlights
• Loss of IRF4 in BAT causes decreased exercise capacity and a selective myopathy
• IRF4 represses myogenic genes in BAT, including the myokine myostatin
• Neutralizing serum myostatin rescues the ability of BATI4KO mice to exercise normally
•Warming reduces IRF4 in BAT, causing myopathy that is reversed by removal of BAT

Researchers open the door to potential new therapies for certain metabolic and muscular diseases. Now, endocrinologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have shown for the first time that brown adipose tissue (BAT), or brown fat, can exert control over skeletal muscle function. Alterations to the brown adipose tissue in mice resulted in a significant and consistent reduction in exercise performance...

The reddish-blue mouse neurons in this image have reentered the cell cycle after exposure to amyloid beta oligomers, and thus are primed for death.
Credit: Image by Erin Kodis and George Bloom

About 50% of people who reach the age of 85 will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Most will die within about 5 years of exhibiting the hallmark symptoms of the disease – severe memory loss and a precipitous decline in cognitive function. But the molecular processes that lead to the disease will have begun years earlier.

Currently, there are no known ways to prevent the disease or to stop its progression once it has begun. But research at the University of Virginia offers new understanding of how the disease develops at the molecular level, long before extensive neuronal damage occurs and symptoms show up.

This is the vitamin pill-sized capsule, currently being commercialized by Atmo Biosciences.
Credit: RMIT University

New trials reveal swallowable sensor 3,000 times more accurate than current technology. New trials of a breakthrough swallowable sensor have revealed the device is 3,000 times more accurate than current technology used to diagnose many gut disorders. The findings show the revolutionary gas-sensing capsule developed by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, could surpass breath testing as the benchmark for diagnosing gut disorders, paving the way to solving previously undiagnosed conditions.

The vitamin pill-sized capsule, currently being commercialised by Atmo Biosciences, provides real time detection and measurement of hydrogen, carbon dioxides and oxygen in ...