As Lyme disease cases surge across the U.S., researchers on Nantucket, Massachusetts, are turning to genetic engineering to stop the ticks that transmit it.

Researchers in Massachusetts are investigating a novel approach to combat Lyme disease by genetically engineering white-footed mice to be immune to the bacteria that cause the illness. By using CRISPR technology to insert immunity genes at the embryonic stage, scientists hope to prevent the transmission of Lyme disease from mice to ticks, thereby interrupting the infection cycle.

The project, still in the planning stages, involves extensive community consultation and careful consideration of potential ecological consequences. Before any field trials, experiments would be conducted on isolated islands to monitor the effects on local ecosystems. The initiative is part of a broader effort to find sustainable solutions to the growing problem of tick-borne diseases.

How genetically engineered mice could help stop Lyme disease

You might know someone who got sick after getting bit by a tick. As tick populations grow, those illnesses are spreading. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in America. And if left untreated, it can cause debilitating symptoms affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system. Our CBS News chief medical correspondent, Dr. John LePook, traveled to Nantucket, Massachusetts, on a 60-minutes assignment to meet with scientists who are genetically engineering mice. And they believe the rodents may hold the key to stopping the spread of Lyme disease. Watch this. Telford is tracking the mouse population on Nantucket as part of a novel project. The scientists want to use genetic engineering to interrupt the cycle of infection necessary for Lyme disease to flourish. White-footed mice are the main host of Lyme bacteria. When an uninfected tick bites an infected mouse, the bacteria transfer to the tick. When that infected tick then bites an uninfected mouse, the cycle continues. Dr. John LePook is here now. So, John, Dr. LePook. John, Dr. LePook. No, I couldn't possibly. Dr. LePook, explain how this could be the key to helping curb Lyme disease. So, you tend to think of deer ticks, right? So, the deer are somehow involved, right? Well, the deer are just really, they provide a blood meal for the ticks, for the baby ticks. And also transportation, they move them all over the place. The real key, as you saw in the animation, is the white-tailed mouse. And to do it again slowly, because this is like new stuff for people to try to understand is, and don't tell me which got infected first. We don't know which got infected first, but you have an infected mouse and is bitten by an uninfected tick. Now, that's how the tick gets infected. Then the tick bites an uninfected mouse, and then the mouse gets infected, and the circle and the cycle continues. So, these scientists, Kevin Esvelt at MIT, Joanna Buchthall, and Sam Telford at Tufts, right? And at MIT, there's the Sculpting Evolution Lab, and they have this project, Mice Against Ticks. And the idea is, if they can use genetic engineering, CRISPR, to insert right at the two-embryo stage of the mouse in the lab, a gene that makes that mouse immune to Lyme, immune to Lyme, born immune, and the children of the mouse are also gonna be immune. Now, you're gonna interrupt that cycle, because there's nowhere for the ticks to spread the disease in the mouse, right? And it gets broken. If you know anything about Lyme disease, you like the idea of stopping Lyme disease. But if you've thought a little bit about genetic engineering, maybe you love it, maybe you have worries about it. So, talk about that. Yeah, perfect. And I said to him, aren't you worried about fooling around with Mother Nature? He said, absolutely. And that's why they're doing it very, very carefully. So, they go to Nantucket. They've had 10 meetings. We were at one of these town hall meetings, and they're discussing, well, what are the pros and what are the cons? What could possibly happen? And I said, couldn't you, by somehow affecting the food chain, have it so that the bald eagle gets extinct? And he said, well, they don't think so, because the mouse, you never know. Unintended, I don't think that's gonna happen. But you have these unintended consequences. They're thinking very hard about it. You had people in Nantucket saying, well, yeah, it's part of the food chain. And all these very smart questions. And what Kevin Esvelt is saying, he's so smart, he said, even if they decide we're not gonna do this experiment, they're not doing it yet. And if they do do it, it's gonna be on an isolated island, not even Nantucket, an isolated island where the mice can't get off, because the mice tend to get on and off when you don't realize it. See what happens to the ecosystem there, and then come back and maybe consider doing it. We're talking about years away, and who knows, maybe there'll be a Lyme vaccine before then. But I really loved how thoughtful everybody was and saying, you know what, let's hear what the, rather than saying, we've had this idea, and we're doing it to you, let's all talk about how we can think about this. It's giving the community a voice in the process too. Dr. Suk, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

As the war in Gaza reaches its two-year mark, Israel and Hamas continue negotiations in Egypt. Talks are centered on a proposed ceasefire deal, which includes a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a hostage-prisoner exchange.

Cairo

Middle East Conflict

Israel and Hamas resume Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt

Leaders in the U.S. state of Illinois are taking President Donald Trump to court, looking to stop the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops to the streets of Chicago. The White House argues that soldiers are needed to prevent so-called lawlessness.

Chicago

Chicago declares 'ICE Free Zones' amid clashes over raids

French President Emmanuel Macron has given Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu 48 hours to stabilize the government following his sudden resignation. Lecornu stepped down hours after naming his cabinet, amid criticism and growing political instability in a parliament without a clear majority.

Paris

Macron gives Lecornu two days to salvage government after resignation

Microchip maker AMD got a huge boost in the race to supply the artificial intelligence revolution. OpenAI, the company behind major AI platform ChatGPT, announced a deal for AMD to provide the AI startup with its high-performance processing chips starting next year.

Santa Clara

Rise of AI

AI chipmaker AMD strikes major deal with OpenAI

It's a race against time to save the remaining 200 or so stranded climbers on Mount Everest after a massive storm dumped at least three feet of snow over the weekend.

Gorakshep

About 200 Mount Everest climbers still stranded

Clashes broke out at ICE facilities in Chicago and Portland after President Trump ordered National Guard troops into both cities. The move has intensified tensions between federal authorities and local officials amid ongoing protests.

Clashes erupt as Trump deploys National Guard

Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was charged with felony battery involving serious bodily injury, and could face up to six years in jail, according to Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.

Indianapolis

Mark Sanchez charged with felony, could face up to 6 years in jail

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced on Monday a lawsuit against the Trump administration over plans to deploy the National Guard to Chicago.

Illinois, Chicago sue Trump over National Guard deployment

A selloff in French markets gathered pace after French media reports that Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has resigned. French stocks fell sharply, government bond yields were up 8 basis points and the euro was last down 0.65% at $1.1667.

French markets tumble after PM Lecornu resigns

Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez has been charged with battery, intoxication, and unlawful entry after allegedly attacking a 69-year-old truck driver in Indianapolis. The driver stabbed Sanchez in self-defense, believing his life was in danger. Sanchez is currently hospitalised.

Ex-NFL star Mark Sanchez faces criminal charges in alleged assault

U.S. President Donald Trump's battle with Democratic-led cities is heating up after 200 California National Guard troops have been reassigned to Oregon, despite a judge blocking the deployment to Portland.

Portland

Trump sends National Guard to Oregon despite court block

Israeli planes and tanks pounded areas across the Gaza Strip overnight and on Sunday, destroying several residential buildings, witnesses said, as Palestinians hoped a U.S. plan to end the war would soon ease their suffering.

Jerusalem

Israeli strikes on Gaza continue ahead peace talks

Amenhotep III ruled between 1390 and 1350 BC and was one of the most prominent pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

Pharaoh's tomb reopened after more than 20 years of renovations

President Trump has thrust the U.S. military into a critical role deterring illegal crossings into this country at the southern border. As Charlie D'Agata reports, their presence is having unintended consequences.

Santa Teresa

U.S. military presence at southern border angers hunters, hikers

A new CBS News poll shows a majority of Americans disapprove of how President Trump and congressional Republicans and Democrats have handled the government shutdown. Willie James Inman reports on that and Mr. Trump's latest National Guard moves.

Washington

Americans fed up with shutdown, poll finds

Negotiators between Hamas and Israel will begin meetings in Cairo on Monday (October 6) for the release of the remaining 20 hostages and a prisoner swap.  There is a lot of pressure on both sides to get a deal done.

Negotiations between Israel, Hamas set to begin

Japan's ruling party picked hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi as its head on Saturday, putting her on course to become the country's first female prime minister in a move set to jolt investors.

Tokyo

Right-wing Sanae Takaichi set to be Japan's first female premier

For a second day, Israel is launching more strikes on the Strip defying demands from the U.S. to stop attacks. At least 61 Palestinians were killed in attacks across the Strip.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel intensifies Gaza bombardment despite U.S. pressure to stop

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes to announce the release of all the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza in one fell swoop in the coming days.

Netanyahu: Gaza peace deal is 'close'

The government shutdown reached its fourth day on Saturday. The Senate on Friday went home after another failed vote to keep the government open. Willie James Inman has the latest.

No signs of compromise as government shutdown continues

Tensions are high in Portland, Oregon, as National Guardsmen could possibly be deployed there as early as this weekend. Federal agents and demonstrators squared off again, but Portland's mayor and chief of police say they don't need the help.

Protests in Portland as National Guard mobilizes

“I believe they are ready for a lasting peace.” the U.S president wrote on social media after Hamas announced it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians.

Trump urges Israel to stop bombing Gaza after peace breakthrough

Israel slowed its Gaza offensive on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded it stop bombing in response to Hamas saying it was ready to free hostages under the U.S. plan to end the two-year-old war.

Could the Trump deal end the Gaza war?

Sanae Takaichi has been elected as the head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is therefore likely to become the next prime minister and the first woman to lead the country.

Japan's ruling LDP elects first female prime minister

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged Hamas's partial acceptance of a ceasefire proposal drafted with Israel, and ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza strip.

Trump orders Israel to stop bombing Gaza

The state Attorney-General says the city is violating the law by sharing license data with federal agencies. The El Cajon mayor has accused the state of 'bullying' cities.

El Cajon

State sues El Cajon over license plate data

Sean "Diddy" Combs was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison on two prostitution-related charges. It follows a roughly two-month-long trial where Combs was acquitted on more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

Manhattan

Sean "Diddy" Combs sentenced to over four years in prison

The United States Senate on Friday (October 3) failed to advance competing plans to extend federal funding and end the government shutdown, likely pushing the funding lapse into at least next week.

U.S. Senate fails to pass funding bill to end government shutdown

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on social media another strike targeting a vessel allegedly connected to narco-trafficking off the coast of Venezuela. CBS News' Reed Cowan reports.

Breakdown