CRISPR till today: Hmm… What is CRISPR?

CRISPR” stands for “Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.”

“CRISPR” is shorthand for “CRISPR-Cas9.”

Bacteria and archaea uses CRISPR- derived RNA and Cas proteins like Cas9.

This long named thing protects bacteria and archaea from the attack of viruses. This mechanism chops and thereby destroys the DNA of a foreign invader.

In short, CRISPRs are specialized stretches of DNA and the protein Cas9 is an enzyme that acts like a pair of molecular scissors which can cut definite parts of a DNA strand.

These mechanism and components are used for gene editing in complex higher organisms.

It is now a technology for editing and modifying DNA. It can potentially correct genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases.

Let’s find about it’s detailed structure in the next article.

Article and illustration by Moumita Mazumdar

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