Recently, scientists
have developed new ways
of making precise changes to the genome.
These methods have the
potential to dramatically
alter how we study living things,
how we develop new crops,
how we diagnose and
treat disease, and more.
Based on certain microbial immune systems
called CRISPRs, these
gene editing systems
act like a word processor's
find-and-replace function
for the genome.
Scientists are adapting,
expanding, and improving
CRISPR-based systems to create a diverse
gene-editing toolkit.
The goal is to make any
desired change in the genome
accurately, precisely, and safely.
In the lab today, CRISPR-based
systems let us conduct
large-scale experiments
with unprecedented speed.
For example, building an
animal model that mimics
a human disease can take years.
With new gene-editing tools
we can now make models
in as little as a few weeks.
In addition, we can create
models that carry the unique
genetic misspellings
that are found in disease
so we can study them.
This gives us a more realistic
model of what's happening
in disease.
This is helping scientists more quickly
and systematically
answer some of the basic
biology questions that have remained open
since the human genome
was first sequenced,
such as what each gene is
actually doing in the body.
CRISPR-based technologies
could also offer new
and better ways to
diagnose or treat disease.
For example, doctors might someday use
CRISPR-based therapies to
correct mutations in some
of the patients' cells.
These genetic changes can
improve a patient's health
but would not be passed
on to the next generation.
Scientists are also making
inexpensive, easy-to-use,
and highly accurate tests
for infectious diseases
or even to track some
cancers based on CRISPR.
To make full use of these powerful tools,
we need a better idea of what
genes do and what happens
when we modify them.
And CRISPR-based tools are
helping to advance the goal
of understanding the roles
of all genes in health
and disease.
(upbeat instrumental music)
