The Jackson Laboratory in Maine is leveraging the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 to engineer lab mice quicker and with more specificity. The technology can speed up validation of gene mutations and over the next decade, the efficiency and precision is projected to expand. The genetically-edited mice are used to screen drug candidates and modelling diseases commonly found in humans. In a study published today in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have engineered mouse models that show improved performance on memory tests compared to their wild counterparts. Those possibilities are terribly exciting," said Edison Liu, the laboratory's president and CEO.
The Jackson Laboratory in Maine is leveraging the gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 to engineer lab mice quicker and with more specificity. The technology can speed up validation of gene mutations and over the next decade, the efficiency and precision is projected to expand. The genetically-edited mice are used to screen drug candidates and modelling diseases commonly found in humans. "We can make mouse models much more relevant to the human condition...Those possibilities are terribly exciting," said Edison Liu, the laboratory's president and CEO.