Since my highschool years 10 years ago, I’ve had interest in the area of microbiology(which I sadly couldn’t pursue due to my hemophobia). Back then, a certain technology called “CRISPR” was circulating, which promised to change everything. The other day, I found a video talking about, and specifically showing how it has started being used by doctors and the industry in recent years, outside of just the research field. So with great excitement, I want to make this blog post about the topic, to both share what I heard and learn new stuff in the process!
Oh and by the way, here is the video:
What is Crispr
CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a revolutionary genetic technology that allows scientists to edit DNA with precision. It works like a molecular pair of scissors, cutting specific parts of the DNA sequence and enabling modifications or corrections to be made.
This technology allows us to remove and insert sequences of DNA straight into cells, with great accuracy and very small risk of mistakes being made, allowing humanity to tackle practically any genetic related problem far more easily than before.
2020 forward
Back in 2020, when COVID-19 hit, there was a MASSIVE influx of cash and interest in the area of microbiology. With it, many researches finally got the funding they needed, while others got the approval necessary to begin experimentation and application of drugs on people. This catapulted CRISPR from beloved toy for scientists and possible future tool for solving many problems to something that could see use right away. The results have been impressive:
Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease and Beta-Thalassemia: In 2020, CRISPR-based gene editing therapy gained attention with the first successful clinical trials for treating genetic blood disorders like sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. Companies like CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals conducted trials showing promising results in improving patients’ quality of life and reducing the need for blood transfusions.
Development of CRISPR-Based COVID-19 Diagnostics: During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers utilized CRISPR technology to develop rapid and accurate diagnostic tests for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These CRISPR-based tests offered advantages such as high sensitivity and specificity, contributing to efficient virus detection and containment efforts.
CRISPR-Edited Plants for Agriculture: Agricultural applications of CRISPR have seen significant progress, with researchers using gene editing to develop crops with desirable traits. For example, in 2023, Embrapa, a brazilian company for agricultural research, started a program to use CRISPR to develop soy more resistant to dry weather.
Gene Therapy for Muscular Dystrophy: In 2021, a groundbreaking study led by researchers at UT Southwestern used CRISPR gene editing to restore dystrophin protein that is missing in many DMD patients. This research paves the way for potential gene therapies to treat DMD and other genetic muscle disorders in humans.
CRISPR-Based Cancer Therapies: Recent years have witnessed advancements in using CRISPR for cancer treatment. In 2023, scientists utilized CRISPR to engineer immune cells that target and kill cancer cells in patients with advanced lung cancer. This personalized immunotherapy approach holds promise for improving cancer treatment outcomes.
CRISPR + Virus to help humans: In 2022, ICB (Brazilian institute of biological sciences) started the first center for production of Viral Vectors using CRISPR in Latin America. Their goal is to use both to eventually produce drugs capable of helping the nervous system, either curing or helping treat neorulogical conditions such as Alzheimer, epilepsy and glaucoma.
And these are just a few I found. This technology has been moving fast, world wide, allowing cheaper and better treatments for all sorts of biological problems to be created, all while being just in its infancy. I can’t wait for see where we will be in 10 years!
