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Plugging the Leak

At Not Exactly Rocket Science, Ed Yong reports on a new study in PLoS Biology on how microbes evolve. A team of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers studied the Sulfolobus islandicus archaeon — a species living in the Mutnovsky volcano in eastern Russia. They found that the species had split into two lineages. But while they do trade genes, the lineages are growing increasingly distant, Yong says. "[Researcher Rachel] Whitaker collected 12 strains of S. islandicus from one of the Mutnovsky springs, sequenced their complete genomes and charted their evolutionary relationships," he adds. "They were remarkably similar. At most, any two strains differed in just 0.35 percent of their genome — far less than the distance between your DNA and a chimp's."

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.