(Daily Mail) – Cutting-edge technology could one day transform treatment for Down syndrome, as researchers have successfully deleted an extra chromosome in lab-grown cells.

Down syndrome – which occurs when a person has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two – alters brain development and can cause intellectual disability, learning difficulties and other health challenges. 

It affects about one in 700 births in the US, with an estimated 250,000 people living with the condition.

Scientists from Mie University in Japan have used CRISPR-Cas9, a DNA-editing tool often described as ‘molecular scissors,’ to cut away the surplus chromosome in cells. (Read More)