How CRISPR deletion works: Cas9 proteins (scissors) are guided to their target sites by single guide RNAs (sgRNAs, orange ribbons). The target region in between is removed. CRISPETa software designs optimal pairs of sgRNAs.
Until recently, genomics was a 'read-only' science. But scientists led by Rory Johnson at the University of Bern and the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, have now developed a tool for quick and easy deletion of DNA in living cells. This software will boost efforts to understand the vast regions of non-coding DNA, or 'Dark Matter', in our DNA and may lead to discovery of new disease-causing genes and potential new drugs. Genomics is the field of research studying how our 'genome', or entire DNA sequence, specifies a human being, and how errors in this sequence give rise to diseases. Genomics was recently a 'read-only' endeavour: researchers used powerful technology to read genomes' sequence and their regulatory layers. However until recently, there was no way to edit or delete DNA for either basic research objectives, or for potential therapeutic interventions. Just a few years ago, this outlook changed dramatically with the discovery of a revolutionary technique for editing genomes: 'CRISPR-Cas9'.
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