Weekend Edition.
Shredding DNA.
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1. Scientists have exploited a peculiar CRISPR enzyme so that it fights cancer by shredding the DNA in cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct. The enzyme can be programmed to recognize a specific messenger RNA, such as one made by a cancer cell. Once the enzyme finds its partner, it slashes the cell’s genome to pieces. The DNA-shredding approach, reported in two papers in Nature1,2, could provide a way for researchers to kill cancer cells that express ‘undruggable’ mutant proteins that have been difficult to target using conventional medicines. “It’s a molecular kill switch that recognizes a particular RNA,” says Yang Liu, a molecular biologist at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, and an author of one of the papers. “This is basically a programmable chemotherapy.” (Source: nature.com. Research papers are here and here.)
2. Inhaling high levels of carbon dioxide intermittently for half an hour flushes proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease out of the brain, a small study has found. Exposure to the gas changes how blood vessels in the brain constrict and dilate while we’re awake, mimicking activity that occurs during deep sleep. This then turbocharges the glymphatic system to remove the build-up of waste products that could cause harm. A 2025 study suggests the same approach could help with Parkinson’s disease, by clearing the protein alpha-synuclein. “If you have any condition that is due to or exacerbated by any sort of accumulation of waste, this could be something beneficial,” says Sephira Ryman at The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. (Sources: newscientist.com, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, hcs.unm.edu)
