Health Research: Millions of smokers have undiagnosed lung disease ♦ How DNA protects itself from UV light ♦ Obesity: Small intestine contributes to chronic inflammation

Research team evolves CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases with novel properties Researchers found a way to expand the use and precision of the powerful gene-editing tools called CRISPR-Cas9 RNA-guided nucleases. The investigators describe evolved versions of the DNA-cutting Cas9 enzyme that are able to recognize a different range of nucleic acid sequences than is possible with the naturally occurring form of Cas9

Millions of smokers have undiagnosed lung disease More than half of long-term smokers and ex-smokers who are considered disease-free because they passed lung-function tests have respiratory-related impairments when more closely evaluated with lung imaging, walking and quality-of-life tests. Many of those people likely have the earliest stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Molecular sunscreen: How DNA protects itself from UV light Using X-rays, scientists measured the ultrafast response of DNA nucleobases to UV light. They found that the UV excited state in the nucleobase thymine decays rapidly, harmlessly dissipating the potentially destructive UV energy. The findings give new insight on how the nucleobases inside DNA protect themselves from light-induced damage.

Obesity: Small intestine contributes to chronic inflammation Obesity is caused by numerous and complex factors, some of which are as yet unsuspected. Scientists have now shown that severe obesity is accompanied by inflammation of the small intestine and enhanced immune response in that region.

Primed for medical nanotechnology? Soft core, hard shell Medical science is placing high hopes on nanoparticles that could be used as a vehicle for targeted drug delivery. Scientists have for the first time succeeded in assaying the stability of these particles and their distribution within the body. Their results show that a lot of research is still needed in this field