CRISPR: A Gene Editing Revolution
A revolutionary technology has seized the scientific community, taking previous approaches to a whole new level. This innovative technique brings exciting possibilities that range from curing genetic disorders, preventing HIV infections and bringing extinct species back to life. CRISPR (Clustered
Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a gene-editing tool that allows scientists to target specific locations of DNA and alter their sequence. CRISPR’s potential is triggering an overwhelming enthusiasm within the science community. Researchers can foresee this new approach as a tool to eradicate, “massively destructive diseases such as Ebola, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, HIV and other seemingly destructive diseases, according to Ms. Jackson, biology teacher. As of now “Scientists have been able to alter the genes in fruit flies, fish, mice, plants and some human cells. A small change in the sequence of even one gene can significantly affect the biology of the cell and in turn may affect the health of an organism.” The agitation surrounding this apparatus comes from CRISPR’s limitations and the possibility for error. “Since CRISPR is still such a new technology, scientific advances are needed to know not only it’s limitations but also applications. Additionally, even if we have the tools to edit DNA, there are very few diseases that are caused by a single base mutation. Meaning, curing all diseases is not as easy as it seems,” says Alison Cucco from the Harlem DNA Lab.
There have been previous genome editing tools, invented to mutate the genes in vegetables, such as corn and tomatoes. “CRISPR is not the first system created for genome editing, but it is quick, inexpensive and more accurate than any other option. This makes it easily accessible; you don’t need expensive labs or large endowments to study this process,“ says Mrs. Dilley, biology teacher. This is how it works: CRISPR takes a bacteria’s defense system and modifies it to become a gene-editing tool in which scientists can add, change or remove DNA within the cell. With this system, scientists can modify specific genes while saving others. Once the targeted gene has been isolated, CRISPR goes to work by silencing a specific gene code or by changing the sequence of DNA. While this process does not sound complicated, deleting DNA is much easier then replacing it.
Bioethicists are concerned with what the future will look like if humans are genetically engineered. Reordering our genes and saving million of lives may seem like a utopic wonder, but scientists are considering what will happen if they lose control. “In many ways, by altering one’s DNA, there is room for error. For some, CRISPR technique is an intervention, by definition, could control the fate of our health system by promoting sustainable life,” says Ms. Jackson. But should fear override the possibilities of feeding a population of 8 billion people with a staple engineered crop or curing cancer?
Recently, the first known attempt at creating a genetically modified human embryo has been carried out in the US. The editing of human embryos demonstrates that it is possible to safely correct genes that cause inherited diseases. Although none of the embryos were allowed to develop the experiment was a success. Like other new technologies it will take time, practice and research before CRISPR can be used on a daily basis on human beings. That said, this technology has certainly opened up an unknown and intriguing side of science as well as shown us a glimpse of what the future holds.