Allessandra DiCorato

Jan 27, 2025 | phys.org | Allessandra DiCorato

Visualizing cells after editing specific genes can help scientists learn new details about the function of those genes. But using microscopy to do this at scale can be challenging, particularly when studying thousands of genes at a time.

Jan 27, 2025 | broadinstitute.org | Allessandra DiCorato

In PERISCOPE, researchers introduce a library of guide RNAs targeting about 20,000 genes into cells. Next, they induce the expression of the DNA-cutting Cas9 enzyme to disable the genes targeted by the guides. They then convert the guide RNAs to complementary DNA, creating “barcodes” of the gene knocked out in each cell, which allow scientists to identify which gene has been turned off in each cell.

Jan 16, 2025 | broadinstitute.org | Allessandra DiCorato

Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and McLean Hospital have discovered a surprising mechanism by which the inherited genetic mutation known to cause Huntington’s disease leads to the death of brain cells. The findings change the understanding of the fatal neurodegenerative disorder and suggest potential ways to delay or even prevent it.

Jan 14, 2025 | medicalxpress.com | Allessandra DiCorato

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have developed a gene-editing treatment for prion disease that extends lifespan by about 50% in a mouse model of the fatal neurodegenerative condition. The treatment, which uses base editing to make a single-letter change in DNA, reduced levels of the disease-causing prion protein in the brain by as much as 60%.

Jan 14, 2025 | broadinstitute.org | Allessandra DiCorato

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have developed a gene-editing treatment for prion disease that extends lifespan by about 50 percent in a mouse model of the fatal neurodegenerative condition. The treatment, which uses base editing to make a single-letter change in DNA, reduced levels of the disease-causing prion protein in the brain by as much as 60 percent.