Discovered new types of brain cells

Study based on epigenetic layers and focused on methylation... allows the discovery of different kind of cells in the brain.


Sources:

New kinds of brain cells revealed - Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Single-cell methylomes identify neuronal subtypes and regulatory elements in mammalian cortex | Science

A pill of CRISPR stuff

New method allows to create

a “CRISPR pill” that instructs harmful bacteria to self-destruct.

Sources:

Edible CRISPR Could Replace Antibiotics - MIT Technology Review

Giant viruses could be the fourth domain of cellular life

Some giant viruses seems to have the ability to encode proteins. This kind of tricks are considered signatures for identify cellular organisms.

Sources:

Giant viruses with an expanded complement of translation system components | Science

Scalable genetic cirtuits

New method allows to construct better genetic circuits.

Sources:

Large-scale design of robust genetic circuits with multiple inputs and outputs for mammalian cells | Nature Biotechnology

Delete the DNA copy-paste...

New technique for 'undo' changes made using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system.

Over the past years, many scientists have used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system to "copy and paste" genes. Though it has been a major scientific breakthrough in 2016, limiting the effects of genetic engineering has been difficult for scientists, until now. A team of scientists discovered an off-switch for gene editing tool through anti-CRISPR proteins from bacterial viruses.

Sources:

Genetic Engineering News: Scientists Discover Off-Switch For CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing System
Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas9 with Bacteriophage Proteins: Cell