CRISPR

CRISPR Cas9 explained. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) are segments of prokaryotic DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences. is an RNA-guided gene-editing platform that makes use of a bacterially derived protein (Cas9) and a synthetic guide RNA to introduce a double strand break at a specific location within the genome.

Cas9 is an enzyme that snips DNA, and CRISPR is a collection of DNA sequences that tells Cas9 exactly where to snip.

New CRISPR inhibitors found with help from U.S. Defense Department funding

October 4, 2018
by Ryan Cross | C&EN

CRISPR/Cas12a system. Photo courtesy C&EN, Illusciences.

As scientists march closer to using CRISPR gene editing to treat diseases, the U.S. Department of Defense is prepping for the possibility of a more nefarious use of CRISPR: its weaponization to harm humans, animals, or crops.

Why the gene editors of tomorrow need to study ethics today

September 19, 2018
by Katie M. Palmer

Jennifer Doudna and Jiwoo Lee. Photo courtesy of Michelle Groskopf, Wired Magazine

Two years after biochemist Jennifer Doudna helped introduce the world to the gene-editing tool known as Crispr, a 14-year-old from New Jersey turned it loose on a petri dish full of lung cancer cells, disrupting their ability to multiply.

Court denies UC appeal, allowing issue of key CRISPR patents

September 10, 2018
By Robert Sanders, Media relations

DNA strandThe Court of Appeals today concluded that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in plant and animal cells is separately patentable from Drs. Doudna and Charpentier's invention of the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in any environment. We are evaluating further litigation options. We also look forward to proving that Drs. Doudna and Charpentier first invented usage in plant and animal cells – a fact that is already widely recognized by the global scientific community – as the Doudna-Charpentier team's several pending patent applications that cover use of CRISPR-Cas9 in plant and animal cells are now under examination by the patent office.

Jennifer Doudna honored at Kavli Prize ceremonies in Norway

September 4, 2018
Bob Sanders | UC Berkeley


Virginijus Šikšnys, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle CharpentierCRISPR-Cas9 inventor Jennifer Doudna, a UC Berkeley professor of chemistry and of molecular and cell biology, was awarded the 2018 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience today in Norway during a gala ceremony hosted by King Harald V. She shared the prestigious honor with her colleague Emmanuelle Charpentier, now at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, Germany, and another early CRISPR researcher, Virginijus Šikšnys of Vilnius University in Lithuania.

CRISPR inventor Jennifer Doudna sees first human therapy five to 10 years away

August 24, 2018
Tatiana Darie | Bloomberg


CRISPER, Jennifer DoudnaBiochemist Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer of the Crispr gene-editing technology that’s taken Wall Street by storm says the field is probably five to 10 years away from having an approved therapy for patients.

Only at Cal: New class teaches undergrads how to ‘CRISPR’

August 21, 2018
By Robert Sanders, Media relations

A student pipetting in the summer course on CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing. (Kevin Doxzen photo)For three weeks in July and August, 30 undergraduates took a summer course to learn how to use the revolutionary gene-editing technology in preparation for jumping into the research lab while still students.

http://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/only-at-cal-new-class-teaches-undergrads-how…

Rewriting DNA for Fun and Profit

July 20, 2018
by Matthew Hudson

Jennifer Doudna. Photo by Washington Post, Getty Images.CRISPR in the eyes of one of its pioneers, Jennifer Doudna. Interview by Medium.

https://medium.com/s/futurehuman/rewriting-dna-for-fun-and-profit-5ac122fe27

CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna is co-founder of new biotech company

April 29, 2018

Mammoth Biosciences company announcedThe world is getting closer to using Crispr to detect a disease quickly, accurately, and cheaply thanks to a new company co-launched by Jennifer Doudna.

https://qz.com/1264104/after-gene-editing-jennifer-doudnas-mammoth-biosciences-a…

Brewing hoppy beer without the hops

March 20, 2018
by Robert Sanders, Berkeley Media Relations

Charles Denby and Rachel Li, UC Berkeley researchers.Berkeley researchers Charles Denby and Rachel Li, have created strains of yeast that produce a hoppy flavor in beer without the use of hops.

http://news.berkeley.edu/2018/03/20/brewing-hoppy-beer-without-the-hops/

CRISPR scissors, Cas12a, enables cutting-edge diagnostics

February 15, 2018

CRISPR-Cas12a TestingCRISPR-Cas12a, one of the DNA-cutting proteins revolutionizing biology today, has an unexpected side effect that makes it an ideal enzyme for simple, rapid and accurate disease diagnostics.

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