Gene Therapy Narrator: In Boston, scientists are working at the frontier of genetic research in an attempt to cure Macular Degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in... By: American Macular Degeneration Foundation … Continue reading →

The Harvard-MIT genomic science institute stays mute on how it will assert control over the tools expected to speed cures and change gene therapy. One of the most important genetic technologies developed in recent years is now patented, and researchers are wondering what they will and wont be allowed to do with the powerful method for editing the genome. On Tuesday, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced that it had been granted a patent covering the components and methodology for CRISPRa new way of making precise, targeted changes to the genome of a cell or an organism. CRISPR could revolutionize biomedical research by giving scientists a more efficient way of re-creating disease-related mutations in lab animals and cultured cells; it may also yield an unprecedented way of treating disease (see Genome Surgery). The patent, issued just six months after its application was filed, covers a modified version of the CRISPR-Cas9 system found naturally in bacteria, which microbes use to defend themselves against viruses. The patent also covers methods for designing and using CRISPRs molecular components. The inventor listed on the patent is Feng Zhang, an MIT researcher and core faculty member of the Broad. Zhang was an MIT … Continue reading →