In the world of genetics, a new tool called CRISPR is revolutionizing genome editing. The CRISPR tool utilizes enzymes to cut and replace DNA in specific sections of a DNA sequence. A strand of RNA is used along with the enzyme in order to guide it to the correct location for extraction. Cas9 is the fastest and most accurate enzyme to be used so far, increasing the number of possible applications of CRISPR technology. These future applications are the most exciting part of this invention. Most of the talk regarding CRISPR discusses its potential to treat disease, edit the genes of human embryos, and further research specific regions of DNA sequences. CRISPR-Cas9 has already been tested in numerous plants, animals, and bacteria, but because of ethical objections, the use of gene editing in human embryos remains a pressing question.
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