CRISPR

Our immune systems could soon hold the key to rewriting disease and disorder treatments. Studying the inner workings of the immune system’s primary weapon, the macrophage, with the help of CRISPR is Dr. Adam Hoppe at SDSU. Read more about his exciting work and what he hopes to accomplish next.

The advent of CRISPR as a gene editing tool appears to have revolutionized drug discovery and development in a very short time. CRISPR-Cas9 technology is also being utilized to target HIV, to mutate or cut out the provirus. Read about what’s new in potential treatments for HIV and the challenges facing the industry.

On the scientific horizon are possibilities of curing genetic disorders and altering disease management — all because of CRISPR. Investigating exciting approaches to reversing the effects of muscular dystrophy with the help of CRISPR is Dr. Chengzu Long at NYU. Read more about his life, his work, and where he sees CRISPR going next.

Better model systems and faster, more comprehensive screens are only two of the many ways in which CRISPR is changing the pace of discovery. See how CRISPR is transforming research and development by providing us with tools that were once unimaginable.

CRISPR has revolutionized gene editing but is not the only way to edit a gene. We compare the pros and cons of four main gene editing techniques – meganucleases, zinc finger nucleases, TALENs, and CRISPR-Cas9 – discuss the advance of these methods to the clinic for therapeutic applications, and introduce newer technologies that eliminate some of the pitfalls of current techniques.

Few discoveries have changed the pace of discovery and the types of questions we can ask as drastically and quickly as CRISPR-based genome editing. But where did CRISPR come from? How was it adapted to become such a game-changing genome editing tool? And why are some of its greatest proponents alarmed?