Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 26 minutes ago
Among the challenges in treating disease, including cancer, is wiping out malignancies, infection, contaminants or other pathologies, without destroying healthy tissue.
“This is a holy grail of medicine and other sciences,” says Utah State University biochemist Ryan Jackson who, with USU doctoral candidate Kadin Crosby and colleagues from other institutions, reports a breakthrough discovery about CRISPR-Cas12a2 in the May 6, 2026, online issue of the journal Nature.
Collaborating institutions on the research, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the R. Gaurth Hansen Family, include the University of Utah, along with Akribion Therapeutics, the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research and the University of Würzburg in Germany.
CRISPR-Cas12a2 is among the newly discovered and obscure CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) immune defense systems Jackson and his students study. Unlike the better-known CRISPR system Cas9, which uses a guide RNA (Ribonucleic acid) to bind complementary DNA, Cas12a2 uses a guide RNA to bind complementary RNA.
“In contrast to activated Cas9, which makes a single precise cut in the bound DNA, RNA target-activated Cas12a2 shreds all DNA it encounters, effectively killing the cell,” says Jackson, R. Gaurth Hansen Associate Professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and co-corresponding author on the paper.
However, if the guide RNA is not a perfect complement to the RNA target, he says, Cas12a2 does not activate and the cell is spared.
“We demonstrate Cas12a2 can selectively kill cells containing a single-point mutant that causes cancer, while leaving cells without the mutant unaffected, with no observable side effects,” says Crosby, co-first author on the paper. “In mice, our therapy reduced tumor volume by about 50 percent after a single treatment.”
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Since 1888, Utah State University established itself as a premier research institution known through the world for its intellectual and technological leadership. USU’s main campus is in Logan, plus 30 campuses throughout Utah. And as long as WiFi is available, you can be an Aggie anywhere through USU Online.
USU competes in 16 NCAA Division I sports. Our student section, the HURD, is one of the loudest and rowdiest in the nation. The diehards become True Aggies by kissing on the block “A” on Homecoming. Adrenaline junkies sled down Old Main hill between classes or rock climb outside. And everyone eats Aggie Ice Cream — even with a foot of snow on the ground.
#7 Best Bang for the Buck in the West - Washington Monthly
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#11 Best Online Bachelor's Program - U.S. News & World Report
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USU is committed to a learning and working environment free from discrimination. For USU’s non-discrimination notice, see equity.usu.edu/non-discrimination.
Among the challenges in treating disease, including cancer, is wiping out malignancies, infection, contaminants or other pathologies, without destroying healthy tissue.
“This is a holy grail of medicine and other sciences,” says Utah State University biochemist Ryan Jackson who, with USU doctoral candidate Kadin Crosby and colleagues from other institutions, reports a breakthrough discovery about CRISPR-Cas12a2 in the May 6, 2026, online issue of the journal Nature.
Collaborating institutions on the research, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the R. Gaurth Hansen Family, include the University of Utah, along with Akribion Therapeutics, the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research and the University of Würzburg in Germany.
CRISPR-Cas12a2 is among the newly discovered and obscure CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) immune defense systems Jackson and his students study. Unlike the better-known CRISPR system Cas9, which uses a guide RNA (Ribonucleic acid) to bind complementary DNA, Cas12a2 uses a guide RNA to bind complementary RNA.
“In contrast to activated Cas9, which makes a single precise cut in the bound DNA, RNA target-activated Cas12a2 shreds all DNA it encounters, effectively killing the cell,” says Jackson, R. Gaurth Hansen Associate Professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and co-corresponding author on the paper.
However, if the guide RNA is not a perfect complement to the RNA target, he says, Cas12a2 does not activate and the cell is spared.
“We demonstrate Cas12a2 can selectively kill cells containing a single-point mutant that causes cancer, while leaving cells without the mutant unaffected, with no observable side effects,” says Crosby, co-first author on the paper. “In mice, our therapy reduced tumor volume by about 50 percent after a single treatment.”
–––––––––––
Since 1888, Utah State University established itself as a premier research institution known through the world for its intellectual and technological leadership. USU’s main campus is in Logan, plus 30 campuses throughout Utah. And as long as WiFi is available, you can be an Aggie anywhere through USU Online.
USU competes in 16 NCAA Division I sports. Our student section, the HURD, is one of the loudest and rowdiest in the nation. The diehards become True Aggies by kissing on the block “A” on Homecoming. Adrenaline junkies sled down Old Main hill between classes or rock climb outside. And everyone eats Aggie Ice Cream — even with a foot of snow on the ground.
#7 Best Bang for the Buck in the West - Washington Monthly
#8 Public University in the Nation - Washington Monthly
#11 Best Online Bachelor's Program - U.S. News & World Report
There’s a place for you at Utah State. Join us.
https://usu.edu/admissions/aggielife/
Follow Us
FB: facebook.com/UtahState
IG: instagram.com/USUAggielife
TW: twitter.com/USUAggies
USU is committed to a learning and working environment free from discrimination. For USU’s non-discrimination notice, see equity.usu.edu/non-discrimination.
