What is genome editing and CRISPR/Cas9？

In the 90s, when I was still a child, I got a glimpse of the news about the cloning of Dolly, the Sheep. In the 2000s, the genome project was an extraordinary revolution in genetics, molecular biology, and understanding a series of mechanisms and techniques based on this knowledge. Genetic engineering, with the capacity for use in biotechnology to develop and produce new drugs and DNA editing techniques, can repair and treat diseases in the era of gene therapy.

Thus, not At least, in 2020, we had the recognition of the CRISPR / Cas9 technique in the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for scientists and researchers Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that enables researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA. It is currently the simplest, most versatile, and precise method of genetic manipulation.

When I read about the CRISPR technique, it brings me back to the 90s when I started my literacy process, and I had in my scissors, an important tool for learning and improving motor skills. And today, with genetic scissors, humanity will be able to help hundreds of thousands of people by rewriting the code of life, editing for good. And it is not any scissors; it is sharp scissors with surgical capacity, which will bring the hope of cure or treatments for health conditions hitherto untreated or with low therapeutic efficacy.

And in these moments, I think how the richness of basic science, of the day-to-day laboratory enriches us with findings so important and revolutionary that they will modify for good everything we know about gene editing. As important as a producer, an actress or actor, a script or a scenario, is the editor and reviewer's role. And so, I think that science is constantly evolving and that CRISPR is undoubtedly a leading edge in science.

I observe life and it surprises me how "chance" brings us discoveries so rich in the eyes of those who observe with such care. Take the example of Emmanuelle, who, studying Streptococcus, one of the most lethal bacteria, discovered tracrRNA, which is part of the bacterium's defense system and disarms the virus clicking its DNA.

From science will always come to the solutions to humanity's problems, and the CRISPR used ethically and for goodwill undoubtedly be the most accurate and effective scissors in genetic editing. When necessary, the code of life can be reedited, allowing us to cut the fragment of DNA that causes us some damage or disease and rewrite our DNA, as when we hold on to a new chance in our life.