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11/29/2018 | Pressemitteilung

New blog illustrates current research on CRISPR-Cas

CRISPR-Whisper starts today (November 29): The new science blog reports on activities and results from the priority program "More than defense" of the German Research Foundation (DFG), which uses CRISPR-Cas to investigate the currently much discussed immune system of bacteria. The blog is designed by the Science Bridge e.V. association at the University of Kassel, which has been offering student and citizen lab courses for more than 20 years.

Image: Lukas Kummer.
Proteins at work.

The concept is to convey molecular biology via personal accounts by scientists as well as to present additional information in an easy-to-understand way via comic inserts. "What is special about CRISPR-Whisper is the access via funny illustrations by our comic artists as well as via the personal reports of the researchers," explains Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Nellen, initiator of the project, "in this way, we want to make the current research on CRISPR-Cas tangible and understandable. It's also about explaining why basic research is so important."

The "More than Defense" ("Beyond Defense") priority program fills a gap in research. More than a decade ago, CRISPR-Cas was used to discover the immune system of bacteria. The molecular tools developed from this discovery have become popular in the media as "gene scissors." But in addition to its well-known defense function, CRISPR-Cas also has other functions. These include involvement in DNA repair (e.g., after radiation damage), regulation of virulence (the disease-causing effect of some bacteria), regulation of "group behavior" (e.g., biofilm formation), and stress tolerance. Until now, these additional functions have not been systematically searched for.
With the CRISPER-Whisper project within SPP 2141, the DFG is responding to the high level of public attention on the topic of "gene scissors". The coordination of the priority program has been taken over by the University of Ulm. In addition to the blog, there will also be events throughout Germany starting next year under the title "CRISPR-Whisper". The first will be a road show in Kassel in February.

CRISPR-Whisper can be reached at https://www.crispr-whisper.de/
Twitter: @CrisprWhisper
Facebook: CRISPR-Whisper
Instagram: crisprwhisper

Contact:

Susanne Günther
University of Kassel
Tel: 0561 804-4232

 

About Science Bridge e.V.

Science Bridge sees itself as a bridge between research and society and makes life sciences tangible for everyone. Science Bridge's main field of activity is to support schools with a range of challenging molecular biology experiments, which are conducted by Science Bridge staff in middle and high school classes as part of all-day experiment days. In addition to the student courses, Science Bridge offers accredited teacher training on current molecular biology topics and teaches interested citizens about genetic engineering at public events.
https://sciencebridge.net/