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Carme Cortina, postdoctoral fellow in the Colorectal Cancer Lab at IRB Barcelona, comments about new gene editing technique called “prime editing” in Diari Ara. Published last week in Nature, this novel approach can enhance DNA repair with unprecedented precision. Thanks to this technique, the authors of the study have managed to repair the DNA of cells affected by conditions such as sickle cell disease and Tay-Sachs disease, the latter a disorder that destroys nerve cells and leads to motor impairment and deafness. “It is a beautiful piece of work based on a brilliant idea and it significantly improves previous gene editing methods,” says Cortina.
Link to Diari Ara
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
