Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists Always Knew Gene-Editing Wreaked Havoc. They Didn't Know Just How Much.
From the earliest days of the CRISPR-Cas9 era, scientists have known that the first step in how it edits genomes — snipping DNA — creates an unholy mess: Cellular repairmen frantically try to fix the cuts by throwing random chunks of DNA into the breach and deleting other random bits. Research published on Monday suggests that’s only the tip of a Titanic-sized iceberg: CRISPR-Cas9 can cause significantly greater genetic havoc than experts thought, the study concludes, perhaps enough to threaten the health of patients who would one day receive CRISPR-based therapy. (Begley, 7/16)
Shares of companies developing therapies using the gene-editing technology Crispr declined Monday following the publication of research suggesting Crispr could cause far more extensive DNA damage than previously thought, leading to potentially harmful health effects for patients. The study, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, said the changes were often at places far away from the intentional edit, and so went undetected in previous studies, which typically observed smaller sections of genetic material. (Mohan and Marcus, 7/16)
