Joseph Fernandez is a postdoctoral researcher at the Genomics and Eco-evolution of Multi-Scale Symbioses Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

A single genetic mutation can have profound consequences, as demonstrated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Huntington’s disease. A new study by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers used a targeted CRISPR technique in the central nervous systems of mice to turn off production of mutant proteins that can cause ALS and Huntington’s disease.