July 11 (UPI) -- Scientists in Japan have successfully silenced disease-causing genes inside mitochondria, the cell's powerhouses, using a novel synthetic compound.
Most DNA is found inside the cell's nucleus. Researchers have previously deployed pyrrole-imidazole polyamides, or PIPs, a DNA-reading and gene-silencing compound, inside cell nuclei. But some DNA exists inside mitochondria, where PIPs have been previously unable to access.