CRISPR claimed scientific fame for its ability to quickly and accurately edit genes. But, at the core, CRISPR systems are immune systems that help bacteria protect themselves from viruses. A new study ...

With such striking effects, many scientists see modulating the microbiomes as a promising avenue for improving human health and wellbeing. In recent years, researchers have shown that tweaking the ...

CRISPR systems are powerful tools for genetic engineering, but they have their limitations. Now, scientists have discovered almost 200 new CRISPR systems in their native habitat of bacteria, and found ...

When scientists discovered how bacteria protect themselves against viral invaders, called phages, in the early 2000s, little did they know they'd stumbled upon a revolutionary tool researchers could ...

The growing threat of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is calling upon researchers to find alternative ways to treat these infections. Cue CRISPR-Cas technology. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is ...

Like people, bacteria get invaded by viruses. In bacteria, the viral invaders are called bacteriophages, derived from the Greek word for bacteria-eaters, or in shortened form, "phages." Scientists ...

Can CRISPR—a gene editing mechanism born from a bacterium’s antiviral system—be used as an antibiotic? That’s what SNIPR Biome wants to know, and new interim data from an early phase 1 study seem to ...

A red quarter of a circle with the words 'The Quarter Mark' beside it. A year-long series looking back on the most significant moments of the past 25 years, how they changed our world, and how they ...

Owen T. Tuck, a graduate student in Jennifer Doudna’s lab at the University of California. Owen T. Tuck, a graduate student in Jennifer Doudna’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley, thinks ...

CRISPR Therapeutics' Casgevy, the first CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing therapy, shows promising results in treating Sickle Cell Disease and beta thalassemia but faces challenges in patient adoption and cost ...

Scientists say they have shed new light on how bacteria protect themselves from certain phage invaders -- by seizing genetic material from weakened, dormant phages and using it to 'vaccinate' ...