First Human Test of CRISPR Proposed

A federal safety board next week will consider the first human use of the gene-editing technology CRISPR, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The proposed treatment is an immune therapy in which a patient’s own blood cells will be removed and genetically altered using the technology, a type of molecular scissors able to precisely cut DNA.

The cancer treatment, in development by the University of Pennsylvania, is designed to target myeloma, melanoma, and sarcomas, according to the NIH.

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