Scientists develop new technique which could prevent disease before birth using 'molecular scissors'

  Scientists from our Department of Biology &amp; Biochemistry have developed a new technique that will streamline biomedical research and could in the future prevent genetic diseases before the moment of conception.<br><br>In a study published in the Nature Group journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/141223/srep07621/full/srep07621.html">Scientific Reports</a>, the scientists used ‘molecular scissors’ that can edit the DNA of either the egg or sperm of mice during fertilisation.<br><br>The researchers used the enzyme Cas9 to cut a precise point in the genome, enabling them accurately to inactivate a specific gene. This allows scientists to study specified gene function in mice by creating a ‘knock-out’ in closer to one month rather than the six required using conventional techniques.<br><br><a href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/news/2015/01/13/molecular-scissors/">READ MORE ON UNIVERSITY OF BATH</a><br><br>Ref: Asymmetric parental genome engineering by Cas9 during mouse meiotic exit. Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 7621. <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/141223/srep07621/full/srep07621.html">doi:10.1038/srep07621</a>