Newly approved CRISPR treatment can change a person’s “blueprint.”

The model can help evolve “better methods for growing cells for blood transfusions, novel cell therapies, and hematopoietic stem cell transplants.”

Remarkably, heX-Embryoid models developed structures akin to blood islands, the initial sites supporting the generation of blood cells in developing embryos. The study identified progenitors for red blood cells, platelets, and various white blood cell types—a pivotal advancement in the field, according to the team.

Researchers claim the model successfully replicated a process closely resembling the initial stages of blood production in humans. “This is exciting because there are extensive possibilities to apply this model to better understand how blood is formed and develop better methods for growing cells for blood transfusions, novel cell therapies, and hematopoietic stem cell transplants,” said Mo Ebrahimkhani, senior author and an associate professor at the Pittsburgh Liver Institute and the Department of Bioengineering at Pitt, in a statement.

Versatile characteristics

HeX-Embryoids exhibit distinctive characteristics, such as the absence of the trophoblast layer responsible for placenta formation and an open yolk sac, lacking a closed cavity. These limitations preclude the embryoids from attaining the status of a genuine embryo or possessing the potential for complete developmental implantation.

Biotech stocks could be at a major turning point after FDA approval of the first gene editing drug using CRISPR technology to treat sickle cell disease. Gove…

A new Seattle biotech organization will be funded to the tune of $75 million to research “DNA typewriters,” self-monitoring cells that could upend our understanding of biology. The collaboration between the University of Washington, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Allen Institute is already underway.

Called the Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology, the joint initiative will combine the expertise of the two well-funded research outfits with that of UW Medicine, working in what UW’s Jay Shendure, scientific lead for the project, called “a new model of collaboration.”

The Hub (not to be confused with the HUB, or Husky Union Building, on UW’s campus) aims to strike a balance between a disinterested intellectual academic approach and a development-focused commercial approach. The $75 million will fund the organization for five years, with the option to renew then.

These three gene therapy stocks should get huge boosts over the long term from the use of gene editing techniques to treat diseases.