Researchers at the University of California San Diego have laid the groundwork for a potential new type of gene therapy using novel CRISPR-based techniques.

An experimental form of gene therapy developed by a team of researchers from UCLA and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London has successfully treated 48 of 50 children born with a rare and deadly inherited disorder that leaves them without an immune system.

The investigators used machine learning to predict which patients might get worse and not respond positively to being turned onto their front in intensive care units (ICUs) – a technique known as proning that is commonly used in this setting to improve oxygenation of the lungs.

In early 2020, a few months after the Covid-19 pandemic began, scientists were able to sequence the full genome of the virus that causes the infection, SARS-CoV-2. While many of its genes were already known at that point, the full complement of protein-coding genes was unresolved.

Now, a new report describes a case of a coincidental mRNA vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection in a 31-year-old doctor, addressing the theoretical considerations for potential risks and further required actions in case more cases appear in the future.