Volume 51 Issue 11, November 2022

The application of genome-editing tools to generate point mutations in animal models is of particular value for precise disease modeling, but the PAM requirement of Cas enzymes is a critical limiting factor. Two new studies demonstrate that SpRY variant displays efficient genome editing in a nearly PAM-less manner in zebrafish, expanding the targeting scope of base editors in this model.

A challenge in translational research is comparing behaviors across species. A new study combines a novel behavioral paradigm in rats and humans with reinforcement learning to infer shared computations for goal-directed navigation.

Rats undergoing the stress-enhanced fear learning procedure are usually housed in social isolation and exposed to a trauma-like experience of 15 massed electric footshocks. By showing that group-housed rats receiving fewer and lower-magnitude electric shocks still exhibit PTSD-relevant changes, this new study presents refinements of the procedure to reduce potential animal pain.