7 | Today in Science: CRISPR

We had a lot of fun diving into this episode on an amazing biotechnology: CRISPR. CRISPR, or clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, was discovered as a bacterial adaptive immunity. Since then, the capabilities of CRISPR have been applied in many fields, including bio-remediation, human medicine, and beyond. The history of CRISPR illustrates that the pathway to scientific innovation is not always linear. Although CRISPR is an unprecedented discovery, there are still many ethical considerations that need to be considered.

As promised, the cover photo is a diagram of CRISPR. Try following along during the explanation of how CRISPR works during the episode! Photo from: Lander 2016 "The Heroes of CRISPR."

Sources:

Frances-

History of CRISPR-Cas from Encounter with a Mysterious Repeated Sequence to Genome Editing Technology

https://jb.asm.org/content/200/7/e00580-17.short CRISPR History: Discovery, Characterization, and Prosperity

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877117317301382

A brief history of CRISPR

https://www.twistbioscience.com/company/blog/crispr-part-1-a-brief-history-of-crispr

The heroes of CRISPR

https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(15)01705-5.pdf

CRISPR patent fight revived https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/15.2.full

Virginia-

Quest to use CRISPR against Diseases Gains ground

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03919-0

Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Engineering

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414006047

List of Current Clinical Trials

https://clinicaltrials.gov/

Development and Applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Engineering

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867414006047#fig1

A Citizen's Guide to Bioremediation

https://clu-in.org/download/Citizens/a_citizens_guide_to_bioremediation.pdf

Gene Editing and Systems Biology Tools for Pesticide Bioremediation: A Review

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396717/

Target, delete, repair: CRISPR is a revolutionary gene-editing tool, but it’s not without risk

https://stanmed.stanford.edu/2018winter/CRISPR-for-gene-editing-is-revolutionary-but-it-comes-with-risks.html

CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Announce FDA Fast Track Designation for CTX001 for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

https://investors.vrtx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/crispr-therapeutics-and-vertex-announce-fda-fast-track The first CRISPR gene therapy to cure sickle-cell disease

https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/the-first-crispr-gene-therapy-to-cure-sickle-cell-disease/

One small edit for humans, one giant edit for humankind? Points and questions to consider for a responsible way forward for gene editing in humans

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41431-017-0024-z#Sec2