Recent developments in CRISPR technology have created much controversy within as
ID: 3443826 • Letter: R
Question
Recent developments in CRISPR technology have created much controversy within as well as outside the scientific community. What is this process and what does it mean for all living things? What are the pros and cons of the potential effects of this technology? You will have to google this topic because it is not addressed in the text. It is a relatively new development and the implications are astounding. I thought it an appropriate topic because we could argue that it has the potential to make evolution null and void
Explanation / Answer
CRISPR technology
CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, that stands the base of the bacterial defence system that is the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. This tool can be used for editing of genomes as well as for altering gene function along with altering DNA sequences. Here, the Cas9 protein acts as the molecular scissor used for editing the strands of cutting of the DNA strands.
It refers to the CPF1 system that is used for targeting os specific genetic code stretches. These are used for targeting of specific sequences, and this system is used for editing DNA at particular locations. These had first been discovered in archae and that these serve a role in the immune system of the bacteria. These would serve as molecular scissors thst carry out detection and destruction of invaders. This is referred to as the Mojica theory.
These sequences are transcribed in short stretches of RNA. As the target DNA would be located, the cas9 enzyme would bind to the DNA, which would cut the DNA, such that the targeted gene would be shu off. Researchers can carry out activation of gene expression by modified version of the Cas9 which allows the researcher to study the function of the gene. This is a customisable approach to genome editing as compared to other editing tools. These are efficient since they are not required to be paired with other cleaving enzymes and can be tailor made.
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