Experts at the University of Tokyo have identified a new protein in the pathway that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers used the “molecular scissors” of CRISPR/Cas9 to search for new genes related to the neurodegenerative disease.
The exact causes of Alzheimer’s disease remain unknown, but one of the most well-supported theories focuses on a protein called amyloid beta. Aggregation, or clumping together, and the depositing of two proteins, amyloid beta and tau, throughout a patient’s brain are a signature of Alzheimer’s disease.
CRISPR/Cas9 allows scientists to make specific changes to the DNA inside cells. Researchers used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to delete individual…
