The Nobel prize was awarded to Drs. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna this morning for their discovery of CRISPR/Cas 9 - 1st published just 8 years ago. (BTW - CRISPR stands for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats")
Using CRISPR/Cas9 is like perfectly fixing a typo in a word in the printed book you are reading. It also can be used in a way so that every new book that is printed has the correction. And depending on exactly how it's done, it also can be used to replace every book that has already been printed with the corrected version.
__________
*CRISPR/Cas9 can fix the mistakes in the DNA of a few of your own cells, which can make you healthier. For example, it can be used to make your own T cells better able to kill cancer or a virus in your body.
*It can be used to fix the DNA in cells that develop into all the other cells in your body to cure a problem. For example, it can fix the defective gene that causes sickle cell anemia in the cells that produce all the red blood cells.
*It can fix the DNA in an embryo so the grown person never develops the problem. For example, it can fix the gene that causes the "boy in the bubble" immune deficiency disorder.
*It can fix the DNA in germ cells (egg or sperm) so every new baby does not have the problem. For example, it can fix an egg from a mom that carries the mutation in the BRCA gene that causes susceptibility to breast cancer.
*And (the potentially scary part) it can be used to change DNA so that every new baby is altered or "improved". "Designer" babies are now possible.
*CRISPR/Cas9 is the kind of thing you read about in science fiction books coming true.
*It's also a great investment opportunity - check out EDIT, NTLA, NVTA, SGMO, CRSP and (my favorite) BLUE
Using CRISPR/Cas9 is like perfectly fixing a typo in a word in the printed book you are reading. It also can be used in a way so that every new book that is printed has the correction. And depending on exactly how it's done, it also can be used to replace every book that has already been printed with the corrected version.
__________
*CRISPR/Cas9 can fix the mistakes in the DNA of a few of your own cells, which can make you healthier. For example, it can be used to make your own T cells better able to kill cancer or a virus in your body.
*It can be used to fix the DNA in cells that develop into all the other cells in your body to cure a problem. For example, it can fix the defective gene that causes sickle cell anemia in the cells that produce all the red blood cells.
*It can fix the DNA in an embryo so the grown person never develops the problem. For example, it can fix the gene that causes the "boy in the bubble" immune deficiency disorder.
*It can fix the DNA in germ cells (egg or sperm) so every new baby does not have the problem. For example, it can fix an egg from a mom that carries the mutation in the BRCA gene that causes susceptibility to breast cancer.
*And (the potentially scary part) it can be used to change DNA so that every new baby is altered or "improved". "Designer" babies are now possible.
*CRISPR/Cas9 is the kind of thing you read about in science fiction books coming true.
*It's also a great investment opportunity - check out EDIT, NTLA, NVTA, SGMO, CRSP and (my favorite) BLUE
