Discoveries
Genetics
Genetics
We are rapidly demystifying cancers, exposing the molecular mechanisms underlying tumors and leading the search for the next generation of targeted cancer therapies. We see a future where every cancer and every patient has a cure.

Genetics

Science
07/2017

Salk scientists solve longstanding biological mystery of DNA organization

Stretched out, the DNA from all the cells in our body would reach Pluto. So how does each tiny cell pack a two-meter length of DNA into its nucleus, which is just one-thousandth of a millimeter across? The answer to this daunting biological riddle is central to understanding how the three-dimensional organization of DNA in the nucleus influences our biology.
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Nature
08/2017

Early gene-editing success holds promise for preventing inherited diseases

Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, co–first author Jun Wu and collaborators have corrected a disease-causing mutation in early stage human embryos. The technique, which uses the CRISPR-Cas9 system, corrected the mutation for a common heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the earliest stage of embryonic development so that the defect would not be passed on to future generations.
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Nature
09/2017

The right way to repair DNA

Is it better to do a task quickly and make mistakes, or to do it slowly but perfectly? When it comes to deciding how to fix breaks in DNA, cells face the same choice between two major repair pathways. The decision matters, because the wrong choice could cause even more DNA damage and lead to cancer. Professor Jan Karlseder and first author Nausica Arnoult found that a tiny protein called CYREN helps cells choose the right pathway at the right time, clarifying a longstanding mystery about DNA repair and offering researchers a powerful tool that could guide better treatments for cancer.

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