This blog appeared earlier on Nature Biotechnology and Bioengineering Community in the behind-the-paper series of our recent Nature Biotechnology paper Engineered phage with antibacterial CRISPR–Cas selectively reduce E. coli burden in mice. While cancer treatment continues to advance and survival rates for people with hematological malignancies are increasing, the chemotherapeutic regimens that are frequently used in this immunocompromised population cause bone marrow suppression and gastrointestinal mucositis with associated increased intestinal permeability.

SNIPR BIOME, a clinical-stage biotechnology company established in 2015, is a testament to the power of diversity and innovation in the Danish biotech industry. With 50 employees representing 23 different nationalities, SNIPR BIOME applies Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR-Cas technology in gene therapies targeting the human microbiome. In 2019, SNIPR BIOME secured 50 million USD in Series A funding, the largest in Scandinavia, enabling us to expand from four to 50 team members.

Last week our article on new anti-CRISPR proteins was published in Cell Host & Microbe. Anti-CRISPRs are small proteins that inhibit the activity of CRISPR-Cas. These days a lot of research is focused on finding more active CRISPR-Cas systems. So why does anyone want to reduce CRISPR-Cas activity? A big challenge with CRISPR-Cas is that it cleaves DNA where it is not supposed to, known as the “off-target effect”. This means CRISPR-Cas can introduce mutations that are unwanted.

Why do functional metagenomics and synthetic biology (synbio) make such an interesting combination? This week, our new article in Nature Chemical Biology ‘The evolving interface between synthetic biology and functional metagenomics’, sheds light on how progress in synthetic biology can advance, and already have advanced, the field of functional metagenomics. We are facing a growing and aging world population, and mankind thus needs new drug molecules and ways to produce nutrients.