STAT : reported that CRISPR could be used to develop precise diagnostic tests

Another kind of DNA that differs only slightly is DNA that's released from tumors into the blood. Being able to detect Zika in urine, rather than more invasive and risky blood tests, is "exactly what the world needs," she said in a statement. "It's an impressive publication," said David Duffy, vice president for research at Quanterix, which is also working to develop ways to detect single molecules. That achievement, described in Science, could pave the way for quick, easy, cheap, and precise diagnostic tests, including in difficult conditions like those in a developing country experiencing a disease outbreak. SHERLOCK could detect tumor DNA when there was 1,000 times more molecules of healthy DNA.

A new CRISPR breakthrough could lead to simpler, cheaper disease diagnosis

Scientists say SHERLOCK, a new CRISPR breakthrough, is a diagnosis tool that could be a game changer for the ability to identify infectious diseases like Zika. And exciting," said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases and preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who was not involved in the new research. This new application would propel CRISPR into the much less controversial realm of point-of-care disease diagnosis. (Monica Akhtar,Joel Achenbach/The Washington Post)The controversial laboratory tool known as CRISPR may have found a whole new world to conquer. The earlier gene-editing tool used a molecule called CRISPR Cas9, but this one uses another enzyme, characterized for the first time only a year ago, and now dubbed Cas13a.

Scientists unveil new CRISPR tool, dubbed SHERLOCK, which could revolutionize how we detect diseases

The scientists demonstrated its abilities by using it to diagnose viral diseases like Zika and bacteria like E. coli. The new tool, known scientifically as Cas13 and dubbed SHERLOCK, is more nimble than its well-known gene editing brother Cas9. A coalition of scientists from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard unveiled a new CRISPR tool today that could be a game changer in the technology we use to diagnose disease. It can detect much smaller molecules, so it could be used to gather information about disease much more quickly and efficiently. It was also able to quickly read "human genetic information, such as risk of heart disease, from a saliva sample," according to a press release.


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