September 26, 2015

Diagram of the possible mechanism for CRISPR (Image courtesy James Atmos)

An article just published in the journal “Cell” describes a study that led to the discovery of a new way to modify DNA. A team of the the Broad Institute led by biologist Feng Zhang found an enzyme that allows for more precise DNA editing more easily than existing ones. This system, called CRISPR-Cpf1, could represent a significant step forward compared to the CRISPR-Cas9 system, already considered revolutionary.