Rice University's Han Xiao has used his AI-supported Sequence Display technology to expand the targeting abilities of CRISPR/Cas9. In a paper recently published in Nature Communications, Xiao evolved several variants of a compact Cas9 that could efficiently target stretches of DNA previously inaccessible for editing. The research included a proof-of-concept study in which the evolved Cas9s were successfully used to edit two genes found in coronary heart disease.