The technology known as CRISPR — clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats — has taken the field of synthetic bioengineering by storm. It emerged as a gene-editing tool only five years ago, but has become a familiar presence in the lab.
The benefits of synthetic bioengineering with CRISPR
CRISPR-Cas9, the full name for the editing system that uses the Cas9 enzyme as molecular scissors, cuts DNA at any desired location. CRISPR’s versatility makes it a popular tool for current and future research projects. Engineers and scientists are using CRISPR to modify and repair DNA in single organisms, create cell and animal models to help accelerate disease and clinical research, and develop CRISPR-based gene drives that can disrupt the spread of animal-borne diseases.
For more information: https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2018/06/editing-genes-one-sequence-time