How CRISPR Works and How it Could Change Our World

Big thanks to Megan Hochstrasser of UC Berekely’s Innovative Genomic Institute (IGI) and Jim Lalonde, a Microbial Engineering Expert at Inscripta. Both help explain how CRISPR works and what it might mean for our future in this Thought Monkey video.

CRISPR is microbial adaptive immune system that was discovered by Japanese scientists in the late 1980s. Since then scientists have figured out how to use CRISPR and certain proteins like the enzyme Cas9, to edit genes by cutting and at times replacing specific sections of DNA. This has equipped scientists with a toolkit similar to a word processor by which they can change the DNA instruction manual of life by getting rid of “bad” genes and replacing them with “good” genes. By doing this the hope is to eliminate many life threatening diseases like sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy, address aspects of climate change by making crops less susceptible to disease and require less water to grow, along with many other examples.

CRISPR is a controversial subject. There are those that have attempted to use this tool to alter the genes of unborn babies, and others that seek to use it to change the genes of entire species like mosquitos and white footed mice in order to prevent malaria and Lyme disease from continuing to affect humans. And while the technology is unlocking cures to diseases we once never thought could be cured, the cures themselves can cost millions of dollars making it inaccessible for the public.

Despite the risks and controversies, one thing is clear, and that is that CRISPR is a technology that is here to stay.

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Sources:
https://www.netflix.com/title/80208910
https://innovativegenomics.org/blog/paying-for-crispr-cures
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/gene-editing-digital-press-kit
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/stuff-to-blow-your-mind-21123915/episode/crispr-and-the-genetic-astronaut-30231478
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/update-crispr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1GpBjDFnno&feature=emb_logo