Nervous Editing

The discovery of CRISPR gene editing technology, which allows scientists to make precise changes to DNA in cells or even whole organisms, has transformed biomedical research. It’s now possible to add, remove or change stretches of DNA anywhere in the genome and see what happens. But while CRISPR makes it relatively easy to alter genes in cells that are actively replicating, it’s still challenging to get it to work in cells that are no longer multiplying, such as mature nerve cells. Now a new technique enables researchers to use CRISPR to add a stretch of DNA encoding a fluorescent molecular marker into a gene that is active in nerve cells grown in the lab like the one in this image, highlighting its delicate branching structure. The technique also works in cells in living animals, providing an important new tool for neuroscientists seeking to understand how nerve cells grow and function.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

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Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image from work by Huaqiang Fang and colleagues
• Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, March 2021