Yale Cancer Center scientists have developed a technology that enables massively parallel DNA substitutions (known as “knock-ins”) into human cells by taking advantage of messenger RNA, a platform now well-known from its use as the COVID vaccine vehicle.
For over 50 years, scientists have been on a quest to identify which malignant mutations within the tumor allow rogue cells to break away from the primary tumor and travel through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to metastasize throughout the body. Now, new research suggests an alternative mechanism has been overlooked—elusive mutations driving metastasis may not be developing within the twisted DNA of tumors themselves, but within the patient’s regular, inherited DNA.
