CRISPR stands for “clustered interspaced short palindromic repeats”; it is a system found in bacteria and archaea, discovered in 1987. After two decades of research on its functionality, scientists found that CRISPR was actually an immune system that microbes used against the invasion of viruses; these microbes utilized CRISPR to recognize and destroy those specific trespassers. It didn’t take long for researchers to realize that by isolating CRISPR and its enzyme Cas9, they would be able to edit the genetic code of just about any living organism.
Gene-editing tools were available even before CRISPR, but simplicity did allow researchers to complete far more complex changes than ever before. Scientists used to have to redesign protein sequences altogether in order to edit genes before CRISPR. It was very laborious, not always predictable, and rarely successful. In contrast, the tools of CRISPR are encoded in a form of RNA rather than in proteins, so it is among the easiest things in molecular biology to edit. It dramatically reduces burden, cost, and timing while increasing the precision and accuracy of gene editing.
In medicine, CRISPR is already helping treat inherited disorders like sickle cell anemia and certain types of blindness. All of this has also allowed scientists to edit genes in human cells to fix mutations that may help people who have conditions usually considered incurable. In 2021, Victoria Gray became the first ever in the US to undergo a CRISPR treatment for genetic diseases. The first clinical trials for CRISPR therapies have now been authorized, providing both a test case for CRISPR’s effectiveness and safety. One of the most applicable uses of CRISPR is hyper-personalized medication. It will let doctors, based on a patient’s genetic material, craft treatments specific to someone’s unique genome. This obviously enhances the efficacy of treatment and further diminishes side effects. This is especially useful in oncology, whereby treatments like CAR-T cell therapy can be further refined and used with increased accuracy on treating tumors. Even rare genetic conditions, once the cause of an almost certain “death sentence,” are now manageable as CRISPR refines treatments for each gene.
Beyond medicine, CRISPR helps agriculture to develop crops resistant to pests, drought, and disease. By using gene editing, nutrition in food is enhanced and dependence on chemical pesticides is reduced, which diminishes environmental impacts due to agriculture. Researchers are also studying how CRISPR could block invasive species, slow the spread of vector-borne diseases like malaria, and fight climate change by engineering new carbon-absorbing plants.
Although CRISPR does many fantastic things, human gene editing brings a host of ethical considerations into play. In 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced he was producing the world’s first gene-edited babies, twin girls whom he called Lulu and Nana. He had recruited couples where the father was infected with HIV and the mother was not. He said he made a change to a gene that makes the girls resistant to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. But the idea of gene editing, which would be passed on to their children, also troubled a lot of researchers. His work engendered the fear of “designer babies” and genetic inequality, showing the need for legislative frameworks to regulate gene-editing technologies because, even though his intentions were good, allowing humans to decide what genes their children have can lead to artificial changes as well. What happens when a mother wants a blonde child instead of a brunette? But what happens when families start picking and choosing every single gene their child has, desperate to make the “perfect child”? The debate extends beyond humans. Should scientists alter entire species to prevent extinction? Despite challenges, research presses on, from personalized medicine tailored to the DNA of a single individual to possible cures for diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries.
However, as CRISPR advances, regulation must keep pace. Striking a balance between innovation and caution will be key in determining how CRISPR shapes the future. Whether it leads to the eradication of genetic diseases or raises new ethical dilemmas, one thing is certain—CRISPR is changing the future, one edit at a time.
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