Scientists reprogram CRISPR to switch off the gene fusions behind 1 in 5 cancers

Some cancers begin when two genes break and fuse together, creating faulty instructions that drive the disease — fusions like these sit behind about 20% of all cancers. At Peter Mac in Melbourne, Australia, Dr Mohamad Fareh, Dr Wenxin Hu and colleagues have shown in laboratory cell models, published in Science Advances, that the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas13b can be reprogrammed to recognise the unique 'fingerprint' where two genes join and silence just that faulty message. The team targeted nine different fusions, including BCR-ABL1, found in nearly all chronic myeloid leukaemia. Getting the tool into tumours in the body is still untested — but the work points toward cancer medicines programmed for each patient's exact fusion.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation