Toggle light / dark theme

Tunneling is a fundamental process in quantum mechanics, involving the ability of a wave packet to cross an energy barrier that would be impossible to overcome by classical means. At the atomic level, this tunneling phenomenon significantly influences molecular biology. It aids in speeding up enzyme reactions, causes spontaneous DNA mutations, and initiates the sequences of events that lead to the sense of smell.

Photoelectron tunneling is a key process in light-induced chemical reactions, charge and energy transfer, and radiation emission. The size of optoelectronic chips and other devices has been close to the sub-nanometer atomic scale, and the quantum tunneling effects between different channels would be significantly enhanced.

“Where are we going? Life, the timeless, mysterious gift, is still evolving. What wonders, or terrors, does evolution hold in store for us in the next ten thousand years? In a million? In six million? Perhaps the answer lies in this old house in this old and misty valley…” A benign and brilliant scientist (Edward Mulhare) discovers a way to accelerate human evolution. David McCallum (super-agent Illya Kuryakin from “The Man From Uncle”) plays the bitter young coal miner who is miraculously transformed into the man of the future. As a result of the experiment, the size of his brain grows grotesquely, a “sixth finger” appears, and he becomes the possessor of tremendous mental powers!

Using CRISPR, an immune system bacteria use to protect themselves from viruses, scientists have harnessed the power to edit genetic information within cells. In fact, the first CRISPR-based therapeutic was recently approved by the FDA to treat sickle cell disease in December 2023. That therapy is based on a highly studied system known as the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic scissor.

However, a newer and unique platform with the potential to make large-sized DNA removals, called Type I CRISPR or CRISPR-Cas3, waits in the wings for potential therapeutic use.

A new study from Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan Medical School, and her collaborators at Cornell University develops off-switches useful for improving the safety of the Type I-C/Cas3 gene editor. The study, “Exploiting Activation and Inactivation Mechanisms in Type I-C CRISPR-Cas3 for 3 Genome Editing Applications,” is published in the journal Molecular Cell.