The DNA-cutting proteins central to CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene-editing tools originally came from bacteria, but a newfound variety of Cas proteins apparently evolved in viruses that infect bacteria.

The microbes of the world are locked in a struggle for survival and a battle for resources. They can compete directly in different ways; there are viruses that can infect bacteria, called ...

It helps to pack light, whether you’re a live virus or a gene editing vector. That’s why a travel-size version of a DNA-cutting enzyme that was found in a virus is of interest to genomic scientists.

A startup founded by one of the pioneers of CRISPR genome editing plans to grow big by thinking small—namely using the smallest-known Cas protein, Cas12f, to deliver genetic therapies that act on the ...

The cryogenic electron microscope structure of the A4p-activated (green) CalpL protein filament (violet) from Candidatus Cloacimonas acidaminovorans (PDB ID: 9EYJ). CRISPR-Cas systems help to protect ...

CRISPR, the technology behind the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has revolutionized the life sciences. The method offers a cheap, fast, and easy way to make edits in precise spots in genomes and could ...

The CRISPR gene-editing system is usually associated with the Cas9 protein, but that’s not the only option out there. Scientists at Stanford have now developed a CRISPR tool called CasMINI, using a ...

Cas proteins like CRISPR-Cas9 have great potential for gene therapy to treat human disease and for altering crop genes, but the gene-targeting and gene-cutting Cas proteins are often large and hard to ...