Special | 10 March 2016

CRISPR

Researchers the world over are fast adopting CRISPR-Cas9 to tinker with the genomes of humans, viruses, bacteria, animals and plants. Nature brings together research, reporting and expert opinion to keep you abreast of the frontiers of gene editing.

Key reads

Nature News | Editorial

Take stock of research ethics in human genome editing

Progress in the use of CRISPR–Cas9 for human germline editing highlights some pressing ethical considerations for research on embryos.
Nature News | News Feature

The quiet revolutionary: How the co-discovery of CRISPR explosively changed Emmanuelle Charpentier’s life

The microbiologist spent years moving labs and relishing solitude. Then her work on gene-editing thrust her into the scientific spotlight.
- Alison Abbott
Nature News | Comment

Genome-editing revolution: My whirlwind year with CRISPR

Jennifer Doudna, a pioneer of the revolutionary genome-editing technology, reflects on how 2015 became the most intense year of her career — and what she's learnt.
- Jennifer Doudna
Nature News | News

Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryos

Rumours of germline modification prove true — and look set to reignite an ethical debate.
- David Cyranoski
- & Sara Reardon
Nature News | News Feature

CRISPR: gene editing is just the beginning

The real power of the biological tool lies in exploring how genomes work.
- Heidi Ledford
Nature News | News

Embryo editing sparks epic debate

In wake of paper describing genetic modification of human embryos, scientists disagree about ethics.
- David Cyranoski
- & Sara Reardon

Latest articles

Nature News | News

Bitter CRISPR patent war intensifies

Gene-editing pioneers prepare for next stage of intellectual-property disputes in the United States and Europe.
- Heidi Ledford
Nature News | News

CRISPR hacks enable pinpoint repairs to genome

Precision tools expand the number of ‘base editors’ available for manipulating DNA and RNA.
- Elie Dolgin
Nature News | News

Chinese scientists fix genetic disorder in cloned human embryos

A method for precisely editing genes in human embryos hints at a cure for a blood disease.
- David Cyranoski
Nature News | News

CRISPR used to peer into human embryos' first days

Gene-edited embryos enable researchers to unpick role of a crucial gene, with more studies likely to follow.
- Heidi Ledford
Nature News | News

CRISPR reveals genetic master switches behind butterfly wing patterns

One gene draws the lines while a second fills in the colours.
- Rachael Lallensack
Nature News | News

Doubts raised about CRISPR gene-editing study in human embryos

Alternative explanations challenge whether technique actually fixed a genetic mutation as claimed.
- Ewen Callaway

All Latest articles

In depth

Nature News | News Feature

Five big mysteries about CRISPR’s origins

Where did it come from? How do organisms use it without self-destructing? And what else can it do?
- Heidi Ledford
Nature News | Comment

CRISPR: Pursuit of profit poisons collaboration

The CRISPR–Cas9 patent battle demonstrates how overzealous efforts to commercialize technology can damage science, writes Jacob S. Sherkow.
- Jacob S. Sherkow
Nature News | News Feature

The unsung heroes of CRISPR

The soaring popularity of gene editing has made celebrities of the principal investigators who pioneered the field — but their graduate students and postdocs are often overlooked.
- Heidi Ledford
Nature News | News Feature

Welcome to the CRISPR zoo

Birds and bees are just the beginning for a burgeoning technology.
- Sara Reardon
Nature News | News Feature

Should you edit your children’s genes?

In the fierce debate about CRISPR gene editing, it’s time to give patients a voice.
- Erika Check Hayden
Nature News | News Feature

CRISPR: gene editing is just the beginning

The real power of the biological tool lies in exploring how genomes work.
- Heidi Ledford

Research & Review

Nature | News & Views

Biotechnology: At the heart of gene edits in human embryos

The gene-editing technology CRISPR–Cas has been used in human embryos grown in vitro to correct a disease-associated mutation. The introduction of editing components at fertilization aided repair efficiency. See Article p.413
- Nerges Winblad
- & Fredrik Lanner
Nature | News & Views

Microbiology: The case of the mysterious messenger

Bacteria and archaea use an innate immune system called CRISPR–Cas to combat viral infection. The identification of a family of molecules that play a key part in this system deepens our understanding of such immunity. See Article p.543
- Kaitlin Johnson
- & Scott Bailey
Nature | News & Views

Systems biology: Molecular memoirs of a cellular family

A system that introduces random modifications to barcode sequences embedded in cells' DNA allows lineage relationships between cells to be discerned, while preserving the cells' spatial relationships. See Letter p.107
- Lauren E. Beck
- & Arjun Raj
Nature | News & Views

Genome editing: The domestication of Cas9

The enzyme Cas9 is used in genome editing to cut selected DNA sequences, but it also creates breaks at off-target sites. Protein engineering has now been used to make Cas9 enzymes that have minimal off-target effects. See Article p.490
- Fyodor Urnov
Nature | News & Views

Parasitology: CRISPR for Cryptosporidium

Study of the diarrhoea-causing pathogen Cryptosporidium has been hindered by a lack of genetic-modification and culture tools. A description of genome editing and propagation methods for the parasite changes this picture. See Letter p.477
- Stephen M. Beverley
Nature | News & Views

Microbiology: How bacteria get spacers from invaders

Bacteria use CRISPR–Cas systems to develop immunity to viruses. Details of how these systems select viral DNA fragments and integrate them into bacterial DNA to create a memory of invaders have now been reported. See Articles p.193 & p.199
- Ido Yosef
- & Udi Qimron

All Research & Review