Genome-editing record smashed with 13,000 edits made in one cell

CARLOS CLARIVAN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

By Michael Le Page

A team has used CRISPR to make a record-breaking 13,200 changes to the DNA of a single human cell. The feat takes us a step closer to being able to thoroughly re-write the genomes of our cells and other organisms.

Half of our genomes – the complete set of DNA inside our cells – consist of hundreds of thousands of copies of genetic parasites called transposons. These transposons code for genes that copy and paste themselves from one location in the genome to another. Most copies of these transposons …