University of Hawaiʻi medical school researchers have developed a new technique to replace broken genes with healthy ones using a protein called integrase.
Jesse Owens heads the research team and is an assistant professor at the UH Institute for Biogenesis Research. He's worked on the project for about four years.
He said this new method is more efficient than current gene-editing tools, such as CRISPR.
"This approach is actually kind of groundbreaking because we're going to be using an active approach for inserting the DNA, versus what CRISPR does is kind of a passive approach where it breaks the DNA and then it kind of stands back and lets the cell kind of heal, and that process is not very efficient," Owens said.
The project was focused on the hemophilia gene, but the ability to insert DNA using this technique could be applied to treating cancer, manufacturing antibodies and more.
An alum of Hilo High School, Owens also has a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from UH Mānoa.
To learn more about the study, click here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 16, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
