- GeneBrief
- Posts
- Bananas, Babies & Breakthroughs | GeneBrief #001
Bananas, Babies & Breakthroughs | GeneBrief #001
Doctors edited a baby’s genes — custom-built to save his life.
Mario S
May 24, 2025
 |
Doctors Designed a Gene Therapy Just for This BabyIn a biotech first, doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia created a personalized gene therapy for a baby with a rare, fatal condition: CPS1 deficiency. Most infants with this disorder don’t survive. But 1-year-old KJ Muldoon received three gene-editing doses tailored to his specific mutation — a scientific moonshot that worked. No serious side effects. Clear signs of improvement. For now, KJ is stable — and living proof of what personalized gene medicine could become. |
FDA Approves First Gene-Edited Skin Graft — and It Works
Imagine your skin tearing from the lightest touch. That’s life with RDEB, a brutal genetic disorder known as “butterfly skin.”
Now the FDA has approved Zevaskyn (pz-cel), a gene-edited skin graft that inserts healthy collagen genes into skin cells — and grafts them back onto the patient.
The result? Real healing for chronic wounds, less pain, and more dignity.
The Banana That Defies Nature (and Browning)
Tired of bananas turning brown before you even eat them? Tropic Biosciences has developed a new kind of banana using CRISPR — not to add genes, but to silence the enzyme that causes browning.
The result? A banana that stays yellow for hours after peeling — no chemicals, no weird aftertaste. Just longer freshness and less food waste.
🧠 The Brief Byte
“CRISPR doesn’t just cut DNA — it’s rewriting the way we treat disease.”
— Jennifer Doudna
