Society News

In this year that marks the 20th Anniversary of the discovery of RNA interference as a gene-silencing mechanism in mammalian cells, Alnylam announced another remarkable development in siRNA therapeutics – a platform that could allow for administration of siRNA medications just once a year with highly potent knockdown of target mRNA. This platform is being tested in preclinical studies ...

CRISPR-Cas systems provide a revolutionary approach to curing disease through precise genome editing and CRISPR therapies have delivered promising early successes. However, engineering more highly efficient, compact Cas systems could result in a more versatile tool that could greatly improve and expand CRISPR-based therapeutics. As Dr. Stanley Qi pointed out, rather than viewing CRISPR as genetic scissors, it may be ...

We enjoyed another excellent Annual Meeting this year! A more extensive meeting review from the organizing committee will be forthcoming, so be sure to watch for it. In the meantime, here is a broad overview highlighting a few of the many fascinating and intriguing presentations. Bob Letsinger, PhD – 100 Years of History Many of you probably enjoyed hearing ...

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are living with a rare disease. Most rare diseases do not currently have a cure. So, once diagnosed with a rare disease, most patients and their families are merely given strategies to manage the disease symptoms and try to minimize the impact on their lives. Sadly, those who receive a diagnosis are the ...

Neurodegenerative diseases, brain tumors, and infectious diseases and inflammatory conditions that impact the brain wreak havoc on a person’s health and are notoriously difficult to treat. Oligonucleotide drugs could provide solutions to many pathological brain conditions if certain challenges could be overcome. Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Takeda Pharmaceutical, and Ionis Pharmaceuticals may have found a solution. ...