Novel CRISPR-derived 'base editors' surgically alter DNA or RNA, offering new ways to fix mutations

Since the start of the CRISPR craze 5 years ago, scientists have raced to invent ever-more-versatile or efficient variations of this powerful tool, which vastly simplifies the editing of DNA. Two studies published in Science and Nature this week broaden CRISPR's reach further still, honing a subtler approach to modifying genetic material that's called base editing. One study extends a strategy for editing DNA, whereas the other breaks new ground by base editing its molecular cousin, RNA.