gene editing

Fierce Syrian hamster gnawing on its cage bars

Researchers created gene-edited hamsters full of rage in an experiment gone wrong

June 26th, 2022

Joshua Hawkins

A group of researchers made gene-edited hamsters that were meant to be less aggressive. The researchers used CRISPR, a gene-editing platform, to remove a gene they believed was responsible for aggressive behavior in hamsters. However, the genetic modification had a much different effect. Instead of being more docile, the hamsters became overly aggressive.

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Scientists might actually create hypoallergenic cats

April 1st, 2022

Joshua Hawkins

People with cat allergies may be able to have a cat sometime in the future thanks to gene-editing technology. Of course, the creation of truly hypoallergenic cats is far off. But, scientists believe they could use CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, to remove the gene responsible for creating the protein that causes cat allergies.

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Those gene-edited babies in China have unexpected mutations

December 5th, 2019

Mike Wehner

In late 2018, a Chinese genetics researcher named He Jiankui announced that he had genetically modified babies that were then carried to term and born. As far as anyone knows, this is the first time any scientist had done such a thing, and it led to an intense outcry from the scientific community. The scientist …

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U.S. professor knew about Chinese scientist’s gene-edited babies months before the rest of us

January 29th, 2019

Mike Wehner

It’s now been a few months since Chinese scientist He Jiankui revealed that he had genetically edited human embryos and implanted them into mothers, resulting in at least two live births. The news rocked the genetics community as scientists the world over condemned the work and demanded that guidelines be put in place to prevent …

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Chinese scientist who claims to have genetically modified babies was suspended from his job in February

November 27th, 2018

Mike Wehner

News broke yesterday of a Chinese scientist who claims to have edited the genes of human embryos which were then carried to full term. The man, He Jiankui, made the claims ahead of a genetic technology conference, and his alleged work drew swift criticism from many other medical researchers who find human genetic modification to …

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China sprints ahead of the US in DNA dabbling with over 80 CRISPR patients and rising

January 22nd, 2018

Mike Wehner

Modern medicine is an amazing thing, but when we start talking about tweaking our DNA things start to sound a little scary. The potentially frightening nature of altering human DNA — we’re getting awfully close to “playing God” with this kind of stuff — delayed scientists in the US who wanted to push forward and …