The CRISPR system targets DNA sequences for precisely cutting DNA and then letting natural DNA repair processes take over.
<h3>What is the CRISPR system?</h3>
CRISPR/Cas9 edits genes by accurately slicing DNA, which is then repaired by the body's mechanisms. The Cas9 enzyme and a guide RNA make up the system's two components. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which some bacterial species use as a component of their antiviral defenses. Co-founder Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier and a team of researchers figured out how to employ this technology as a gene-editing tool (Jinek, et al. Science 2012) An enzyme known as a CRISPR-associated (Cas) endonuclease that functions as a "molecular scissors" to cut DNA where a guide specifies RNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic informational molecule that most organisms use to store the "instructions for life". Living beings employ ribonucleic acid (RNA), a molecule related to DNA, for a variety of tasks, including carrying and reading the DNA "instructions." RNA molecules known as "guide RNA" (gRNA) attach to Cas9.
