Nanotechnology Essay

The Gene Hackers published by the New Yorker’s Michael Specter talks about a breakthrough technology that could allow for the creation of genetically modified humans- “humans 2.0” as he calls it. This new technology could also be the cure for many genetic disorders like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s etc. as it would allow scientist the ease of genetically identifying and editing specific genes responsible for these genetic abnormalities. This exciting new technology will be known as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats associated protein 9 or CRISPR-Cas 9 for short.

For many years biomedical researchers like myself have been trying to create more proactive ways to amend the genome for living cells. In more recent fieldwork studies there has been a new state of the art instrument based on bacterial CRISP in close works with protein 9 often referred to as CAS9 from the streptococcus progenies have possibly unlocked new data. The CRISP/CAS9 tries to manipulate the function of the gene using homologous recombination and RNA interference, but is set back because it can only provide short term restriction of the genes function and it’s iffy off- target effects.

CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat, referring to the repeating DNA sequences found in the genomes of microorganisms. CRISPR technology allows scientists to make precise changes in genes by splicing and replacing these DNA sequences with new ones. Through these changes, the biology of the cell is altered and possibly affects the health of an organism. The possibilities are endless as this offers opportunities in curing deadly diseases, modifying genes, and changing humanity as we know it. Although bioengineering has been around since the 1960s, CRISPR is significant because of the comparative low costs and the ease of the procedure to

The author gives a brief history of past genome editing but thoroughly explains the history and mechanism of the CRISPR technology. She elaborates on how the technology has already been used to cure diseases and speculates on its future uses and regulation.

CRISPR is a technology that allows DNA sequence to be altered in a precised manner in order to avoid genetic mutations that may lead to different diseases. It works by the action of the protein called Cas9 that acts as a molecular scalpel. Cas9 has the ability to detect which parts of the DNA are defective. After it determines where that part is, it attaches itself to it and after a series of chemical reactions, it cuts it right at the spot of the malfunctioned DNA. Sometimes, a new DNA can be attached to it so that the cell can work properly again.

CRISPR or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat, is used to change the DNA. Today, as humans, we have learned how to use CRISPR for what we want it to do. This is a major break in what we know about DNA. For the future we are looking at how we can change DNA and control what the DNA changes to.

Genetic diseases and illnesses have been of much concern for many years, leaving many deceased or with a poor quality of life. Due to the implication of modern medicine and other techniques used for treatments, mortality rates have decreased and the average life expectancy has increased. Unfortunately, every individual responds differently to the type of treatment they need, which is why the implication of personalized medicine is forthcoming. A certain technique that has been distinguished and commended by researchers today is known as clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR. CRISPR is associated with Cas9, and it is a popular genome editing technique which can be programmed to target specific areas of DNA and

CRISPR/Cas9 DNA editing system is a prokaryotic immune system that becomes resistant to foreign genetics such as plasmids. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are prokaryotic DNA strands that have a short repetition base sequence. Cas9 is a nuclease enzyme that is used to cut into DNA strands that are associated with CRISPR type II. CRISPR/Cas9 system has several advantages when using this technology in the biological and biomedical sciences. It also has a few disadvantages that cause concerns when using this system in the medicine field. However, before all of this can be discussed, a depth of what CRISPR/Cas9 is and where it comes from and why is it important to the biology field.

(…) Researchers can edit genes by ridding the faulty genes and replacing the lettering(coding) with the CRISPR-Cas9.

The process used to modify genes is called CRISPR/Cas9. It was discovered in china in 2013; before CRISPR, scientist would

To make this possible they used a new device called CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). CRISPR is a new gene editing system derived from bacteria, that enables scientists to edit the genes of living organism. The way it works is a CRISPR "spacer" sequences are transcribed into short RNA sequences ("CRISPR RNAs" or "crRNAs") capable of guiding the system to matching sequences of DNA. These techniques allow researchers to study the gene’s function. He mentions how soon their will come a time to determine when and how to use this breakthrough technology. In this article Wadhwa discusses the pros and cons this breakthrough could mean for society.

This paper is going to focus on the Cas9 system. Cas9 has a general mechanism of how it works and operates. Further studies and modification to the system have introduced more ways for Cas9 to work. The general mechanism is cleaving the DNA intended DNA portion out of the host genome. This was the original defense mechanism used by bacteria against viruses. In this system, small RNA pieces seek out matching DNA sequences tell the Cas9 where to start cutting the DNA that was inserted by the virus. After the DNA had been cut it was put back together by repairing mechanisms called non homologous end joining (NHEJ) which will be explained later in the paper. One variation of this mechanism is called “nicking”. This modified the Cas9 nuclease to only cut one strand of DNA at a time. The benefit of nicking is that you are able to get a more specific cut of the DNA strand. Two mutations in the nuclease that are relevant for this mutation are. Not only does CRISPR Cas 9 cut out genes it has also been modified for turning on fluorescence. Another function Cas9 can do is break open DNA to make it possible for the insertion of more genes. All of these

Scientists have been trying to find a way to manipulate DNA since its discovery back in 1950. For many, the goal has been to be able not only to make changes, but make precise and specific changes. Most of the early attempts succeeded with the first part but failed at the second. Recently,

For many years, There have been many discoveries in the world of science such as; the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by Watson and Crick, the purines and pyrmides of DNA by the Human Genome Project, yet despite discovering genetic changes associated with Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and thousands of other diseases with deleterious genetic mutations, The process of openly altering the structure of DNA and using it in many industries from agriculture to clinical research has only just began.

They improved the NHEJ machinery to collaborate with the CRISPR system, allowing DNA to be inserted at precise locations in the genome, and then inserted “an inert virus to deliver HITI’s package of genetic instructions to neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells” (…). The innovation allows the cells to glue the ends of cut targeted DNA back together, with the extra addition of the DNA template in-between the cut targeted DNA, via NHEJ. In the case of the cell re-joining without the added insertion or mutation, the CRISPR system would reform and repeat the process. Likewise, donor DNA was designed to recreate the cut site, for the situation of the insertion gluing back together in the wrong orientation.