Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:Directed evolution is a laboratory method that speeds up protein mutations to help create novel cancer and neurodegenerative disorder therapies. In a new study, scientists detail a method called T7-ORACLE, which makes this rapid evolution process faster and more effective. Researchers estimate that this method speeds up evolution some 100,000 times and allows scientists to introduce mutations in a matter of minutes rather than weeks. Now, a second study (led by Scripps Research and published in the journal Science) showcases yet another method for directed evolution called T7-ORACLE. Because the cell’s genome remains untouched, scientists can introduce mutations every time the cell divides (roughly every 20 minutes).