CRISPR journal

Last week the first issue of a new journal debuted: The CRISPR Journal. With a massive number of journals out there why should any of us care about a new one? I would not normally read the first issue of a Journal (although I did read lots of 1st edition comics when I was a kid – I may wear a Superman belt, but really I’m a BatMan fan), however CRISPR technology is one I’ve not dug into in detail although I am fully aware of the impact the technology is having. I see this Journal as one to watch to keep up to date with the CRISPR universe and hope the editorial team can keep the commentary half of the journal a place to watch and learn.

There’s coverage and commentary on the use of CRISPR gene editing for genome therapy, e.g. as used to correct a mouse model of progressive hearing loss (recently published in Nature by David Liu’s lab at Harvard). This commentary discusses some of the challenges including the immune response from the host to the adenoviral vectors used, and the use of non-viral delivery mechanisms.

The article titled “Lights, Camera, Action! Cut!” has a short interview with Hiroshi Nishimasu about the video he Tweeted last year showing the moment a CAS9 enzyme cuts double-stranded DNA (see below). I’d not seen this before (too much time watching the traditional Genomics space) and was blown away by this video. Using atomic force microscopy to capture Cas9 in action in real time is stunning science. If the timing were right including a discussion on the use of CRISPR as a cellular history recording device (see the CAMERA publication in Science last week) would have been a perfect match for their title!

Single-molecule movie of DNA search and cleavage by CRISPR-Cas9. pic.twitter.com/3NQxmbvzJF

— hnisimasu (@hnisimasu) November 10, 2017

But the best article from my perspective was the review of the CRISPR patent landscape and “Doudna vs Zhang”, the arguments around which I doubt any molecular biologist is unaware of. Jacob Sherkow from the New York Law School explains the major issues: “the past, present, and future landscape of CRISPR patents.” Amazingly the PTO has already granted over 450 CRISPR patents, but thats only ones filed since mid-2016 – anyone want to take a guess at how many CRISPR patents have been filed to date?

Last, but definitley not least, one of my colleagues is on a very accomplished editorial board. Al Russell finds himself listed alongside the likes of George Church, Emmanuelle Charpentier & Jennifer Doudna (jealous much).

Follow The CRISPR Journal on Twitter: @CRISPRjournal or the Editor-in-Chief, Rodolphe Barrangou, @CRISPRlab.