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A ‘CRISPR’ way to visualize RNA in live cells

Visualizing RNA molecules in live cells remains a challenge, and existing methods require genetic manipulation or have limited resolution. Our study overcomes these limitations by using the programmable CRISPR–Csm tool to bind and track individual transcripts in their native state.

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Fig. 1: Overview of the smLiveFISH system.

References

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This is a summary of: Xia, C. et al. Single-molecule live-cell RNA imaging with CRISPR–Csm. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-024-02540-5 (2025).

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A ‘CRISPR’ way to visualize RNA in live cells. Nat Biotechnol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02560-9

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