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Many of the most remarkable tools in genome engineering have humble beginnings. This week, ӳý core member Feng Zhang and his colleagues from MIT and Rockefeller University on one of the newest additions to the growing list of genome editing technologies. Known as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) systems,

In September 2012, the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project Consortium, a multi-institution collaboration that included the ӳý, capped off nine years of research with a flurry of papers that characterized proteins, enzymes, and other functional elements of the human genome. These elements, which were once dismissed as “junk DNA” because they were not among the protein-coding genes, are now thought to fulfill key functions, often regulating how and when genes are activated.

This week, Mitch Guttman — one of the ӳý’s first generation of “alumni” — was named to the Forbes "" list of rising stars. This accolade comes on the heels of another prestigious honor for Guttman, who received an NIH in the fall.

Most likely, German physician Robert Koch never dreamed of genomes. When he died in 1910, Koch certainly didn’t know that a century later his work would still have echoes in the research of physicians and geneticists interested in our genes’ inner workings and how the code within us leads to disease.

Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in the United States. Risk factors for the disease are varied and include factors such as advanced age and diet, but most cases share something crucial that scientists hope can usher in new treatments. In nearly all cases, the DNA in colon tumors harbors mutations in a key intracellular process or “pathway,” leading to the buildup of proteins that drive uncontrolled growth of cells.