Plus: CRISPR’d cat cells & a supercharged prime editor to swap DNA bases. — Subscribe for free at codonmag.com. Hello. A complete human genome sequence adds a full chromosome’s worth of data to prior versions. An allergy-causing gene in cats is modified by CRISPR. And a tweak to prime editing boosts its efficiency by 353x, on average. The Human Genome Sequence is Complete About 8 percent of the human genome…

A tour-de-force in bacterial engineering for cancer therapy. — Subscribe for free at codonmag.com. Case Study Sometime in 1913, a patient walked through the doors of New York Hospital, the second oldest hospital in the United States, and met with Dr. William Coley, a bone surgeon. The patient’s concern was obvious: a large tumor — specifically, a sarcoma, a cancer that…

The genome diverges just 4.85 percent from modern Norway brown rats. — Subscribe for free at codonmag.com. We have since built museums to celebrate the past, and spent decades studying prehistoric lives. And if all this has taught us anything, it is this: no species lasts forever. — Kenneth Branagh Woolly mammoth de-extinction efforts often grab headlines, while less conspicuous animals fly…

By merging bio-ware and hardware, Tim Lu’s lab has developed a pill that can detect biomarkers of inflammatory bowel disease. — Subscribe for free at codonmag.com. All disease begins in the gut. — Hippocrates Hippocrates, writing more than two millennia ago, may have been on to something. In recent years, a scientific renaissance has cemented a link between the gut microbiome and myriad diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

Plus: CRISPR’d cats & BigHat acquires Frugi Biotechnology, a cell-free diagnostics company. — Subscribe for free at codonmag.com Hello. In this issue, a Ginkgo earnings call reveals financial packages for top executives, biotech stocks are in decline & a more flexible CRISPR system could be used to correct a wide range of disease-causing genetic variants. Flexible CRISPR When correcting a faulty gene inside of a…

Cell Crunch (Issue 2021.03.30) — Reach out on Twitter with feedback and questions. Receive this free newsletter every Friday morning by clicking here. I have four tips: Curiosity … More curiosity. Even more curiosity. Passion. It’s not enough to be curious. — Ada Yonath All of the featured studies this week are preprints, and have…

Cell Crunch (Issue 2021.03.26) — Reach out on Twitter with feedback and questions. Receive this free newsletter every Friday morning by clicking here. By forces seemingly antagonistic and destructive Nature accomplishes her beneficent designs — now a flood of fire, now a flood of ice, now a flood of water; and again in the fullness…

Cell Crunch (Issue 2021.03.22) — Reach out on Twitter with feedback and questions. Receive this free newsletter every Friday morning by clicking here. Some paintings become famous because, being durable, they are viewed by successive generations, in each of which are likely to be found a few appreciative eyes. I know a painting so evanescent…

Cell Crunch (Issue 2021.03.19) — Reach out on Twitter with feedback and questions. Receive this free newsletter every Friday morning by clicking here. You ask particularly after my health. I suppose that I have not many months to live; but, of course, I know nothing about it. …