New CRISPR technique switches genes on

March 24 brought a fresh round of attention to a strand of CRISPR research that aims to control genes without slicing DNA. Purdue University and Columbia University researchers reported in two Nature papers that a naturally occurring CRISPR-related system can activate gene expression by recruiting the cell’s transcription machinery rather than making a cut. That matters because the best-known CRISPR tools work by making targeted breaks in DNA, and those breaks can create unwanted edits or other downstream effects. A separate line of work from UNSW Sydney and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, published in Nature Communications in August 2025, also described switching genes back on without cutting DNA by removing methyl groups that silence them. (bio.purdue.edu) The result is that “CRISPR that switches genes on” now refers to at least two different no-cut approaches, one based on RNA-guided transcription activation and another based on epigenetic editing. The social-media posts circulating this week appear to compress those strands into a single idea, but the underlying research record is more specific. (unsw.edu.au) ### Which no-cut CRISPR result is actually documented in peer-reviewed papers? Two Nature papers published in March 2026 describe what Purdue called a “naturally evolved” CRISPR system that activates genes. Purdue said one study examined the biological function of the system and the other explained the molecular mechanism that lets it recruit RNA polymerase, the enzyme that transcribes DNA into RNA. (bio.purdue.edu) An August 14, 2025 UNSW study in Nature Communications described a different route. UNSW said researchers removed methyl groups from silenced genes and showed that the genes turned back on; when the methyl groups were restored, the genes shut down again. ### How is this different from standard CRISPR editing? Leifu Chang, a Purdue associate professor of biological sciences, said the March 2026 system still uses RNA to guide the complex to a DNA target, but “instead of cutting the DNA, it recruits the cell’s transcription machinery to activate gene expression.” Purdue said that means the genome is not permanently altered in the way a cut-and-repair edit can alter it. (bio.purdue.edu) (unsw.edu.au) UNSW framed its 2025 method as “epigenetic editing.” The university said earlier CRISPR generations often relied on cutting DNA to disable genes or rewrite letters in the genetic code, while the newer approach works on chemical markers attached to DNA rather than the DNA sequence itself. ### What, exactly, is being switched on? (bio.purdue.edu) The Purdue-Columbia papers describe transcriptional activation. Purdue said the RNA-guided complex binds a target site and helps bring in RNA polymerase, allowing gene expression to begin even at some locations that lack the usual promoter cues. (unsw.edu.au) The UNSW-St. Jude work describes reactivation of genes that had been chemically silenced. Merlin Crossley, the study’s lead author, said removing methyl groups showed “very clearly” that “if you brush the cobwebs off, the gene comes on,” and adding the groups back shut the genes down again. ### Does “safer” mean ready for patients? (bio.purdue.edu) The published reports stop short of that. Purdue said its March 2026 findings provide “a foundation for new gene-regulation technologies” and could be adapted for research tools and potential therapeutic strategies. UNSW said its 2025 work could offer a safer path for diseases such as sickle cell by reactivating a fetal blood gene, but that statement was presented as a research direction, not a clinical result. (unsw.edu.au) Neither source described an approved therapy or reported human trial data in the materials reviewed here. ### Why are people talking about it again this week? (bio.purdue.edu) Posts on X this week recirculated the broad claim that CRISPR can switch genes on without cutting DNA, but the peer-reviewed record behind that claim predates the posts. The clearest published anchors are the March 2026 Nature papers from Purdue and Columbia and the August 2025 Nature Communications paper from UNSW and St. Jude. (unsw.edu.au) The next step for readers is straightforward: the March 2026 Nature papers identify the Purdue-Columbia activation system, and the August 14, 2025 Nature Communications study identifies the UNSW-St. Jude epigenetic-editing result. Those are the named studies behind the current discussion. (nature.com) (bio.purdue.edu)