GoKawiilCRISPR–Cas genome editors for fixing faulty genes have been developed over the past few years, but a fresh wave of research is revealing an unexpected way in which related systems can tackle disease: by eliminating the cells that carry faulty genes. Writing in Nature, Scholz et al.1 and Zeng et al.2 show that the enzyme Cas12a2 can be programmed to detect mutations in disease-associated RNA and trigger the destruction of DNA only in cells that express that RNA. The approach could be especially powerful against ‘undruggable’ mutations, including common cancer-associated defects such as those in the gene TP53. Together, the authors’ findings point to a new class of precision therapies that can remove diseased cells while sparing healthy ones.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02122-2
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Competing Interests The authors declare no competing interests.
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