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Teen CRISPR Breakthrough for Early Lyme Detection
1 Dec
Summary
- Georgia high school students used CRISPR to develop an early Lyme detection method.
- Their innovative approach could identify Lyme disease within two days of infection.
- The students presented their groundbreaking work at the iGEM competition in Paris.
A team of public high school students from Lambert High School in Georgia has pioneered a revolutionary method for the early detection of Lyme disease, utilizing CRISPR gene-editing technology. This innovative project, presented at the iGEM competition in Paris, aims to address the critical challenge of diagnosing Lyme disease in its initial stages, a feat that has eluded adult scientists for decades.
The students' research focused on developing a diagnostic test capable of identifying Lyme disease within just two days of infection, a significant improvement over current methods that often take two weeks. Their approach targets a specific protein generated by the Lyme infection, highlighting it with a kit-style test similar to pregnancy or COVID-19 tests, and has shown proof of concept in simulated blood serum.
Despite initial skepticism from experts, the team's dedication and the advanced facilities at their school allowed them to achieve promising results. While their project did not win the grand prize at iGEM, their work was recognized, and they finished in the top 10 high school teams globally, marking them as the only American team to achieve this distinction.
