With a little detective work, CRISPR can say what that infection is
CRISPR is already known for its power as a gene-editing tool that could one day transform how we fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases. But CRISPR’s potential is broader than that — and a new study using the technology has shown it can diagnose infections as well…
…Today’s study builds on previous research published in Nature last year by a team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley. That paper showed that the fluorescent signal process is possible with C2c2, Jennifer Doudna, a CRISPR pioneer and co-author of the Nature study, writes in an email to The Verge. Collins and his colleagues combined that process with a technique that boosts the sensitivity and accuracy with which C2c2 targets RNA. “They were able to really take this proof of concept to the next level in terms of sensitivity to something that could be used in a clinic or in the field to detect viruses or bacteria,” says Mitchell O’Connell, a postdoctoral fellow at Doudna’s lab and one of the lead authors of the Nature paper.
