CRISPR-Cas9 May Elevate Cancer Risk

Researchers from Cambridge University and the Karolinska Institute warn that the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 that is used to remove and replace genetic defects may increase the risk of cancer in the cells. They found that CRISPR-Cas9 triggers a mechanism designed to protect cells from DNA damage and cells that lack this mechanism are easier to edit than normal cells, which can result in genome-edited cell populations that have higher numbers of cells in which the key mechanism protecting against DNA damage is missing. 

Source: Reuters