all of the genetic information of an organism (living thing)... more
Michelle Di Palma
Megan McCaughan
Kimberly Olney
Emily Webb
CRISPR is a very powerful technology. With any new technology, there are many important questions about how to use it responsibly. These questions can be quite difficult. And not everyone agrees on the best ways to use CRISPR or gene editing. Some ask if we should even use CRISPR at all. One major area, though not the only one, for those difficult questions has been around the use of gene editing in humans.
Imagine you are a farmer. You may love the fresh fruits and vegetables that you grow on your farm, but growing them is a lot of hard work. Growing better crops that are bigger, more nutritious, or less likely to die before harvest would make farming much easier. It would also let you grow more food for more people. But better crops are not easy to come by. Building better food is one of the ideas behind using CRISPR to edit the genes of many crops.
When we get sick, we often go to a doctor to find out how to get better. Sometimes the doctor may prescribe medicine to fight off whatever is making us sick, like bacteria or a virus. For more serious illnesses, the doctor may need to perform surgery to remove a dangerous growth or repair a damaged organ. But what if the thing that is making you sick is your own DNA? What kind of medical treatment would you need then?
You sniff the soap closely. Cinnamon... orange... and vanilla. Mmmmm. Whether picking out the scents in soap, or smelling when food has been sitting for too long, how is it that your nose knows what it is you're smelling?
Your stomach is full of tiny organisms that live in peace and harmony with your body – but what happens when the peace is disrupted?
