Researchers from UC San Diego and Yale have developed safer genome editing technologies including small nuclear RNA base editing, an alternative to traditional CRISPR, which reduces unintended mutations. Additionally, UCSF scientists showed that CRISPR activation can increase expression of the functional SCN2A gene copy to alleviate symptoms in mice models of neurodevelopmental disorders. Meanwhile, prime editors with improved precision developed at MIT minimize genomic errors during editing, paving the way for safer gene therapies.