EXPLAINER: What drives high-profile disappearances in China
The disappearance of tennis star Peng Shuai in China following her accusations of sexual assault against a former top Communist Party official has shined a spotlight on similar cases involving political dissidents, entertainers, business leaders and others who ran afoul of the authorities.
New gene editing technology could correct 89% of genetic defects
- Scientists have developed a new gene-editing technology that could potentially correct up to 89% of genetic defects, including those that cause diseases like sickle cell anemia. Prime editing builds on powerful CRISPR gene editing, but is more precise and versatile -- it "directly writes new genetic information into a specified DNA site," according to the paper. About two-thirds of known human genetic variants associated with diseases are single point gene mutations, so gene editing has the potential to correct or reproduce such mutations. With this method, researchers say they hope to accurately and efficiently correct up to 89% of known disease-causing genetic variations. Gene editing is still a relatively young and rapidly expanding field of study -- CRISPR-Cas9 is based on a decade-old discovery, but was only used on humans for the first time in 2016.