DNA origami puts CRISPR enzymes in a twist

Written by Lucy Chard (Assistant Editor)

CRISPR enzymes DNA

Researchers have developed a way to map the movements of CRISPR enzymes as they cut genetic sequences at an ultra-fast rate, using DNA origami. In 2020 the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier (Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany) and Jennifer Doudna (University of California, Berkeley, USA) for their research on CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. These genetic scissors work extremely quickly, allowing timely editing of genetic sequences. However, the speed of cutting can sometimes mean that the sequence is cut at a point it is not supposed to be cut at, and it can...

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