GRIPS – CRISPR-Cas9 Talk

It’s hard to imagine genome editing before CRISPR-Cas9, using TALENs and ZFNs. The older technologies were difficult to produce and use while CRISPR-Cas9 is relatively easy and taking the field by storm. Dr. Josh Tyco talked about the ethics including the notorious example of a Chinese scientist editing the DNA of viable human embryos, gene drives (using CRISPR-Cas9 to eradicate mosquitoes is one such possibility), and the mechanics of it (I found the fact that the length of the sgRNA not necessarily correlating with the specificity of the CRISPR-Cas9 experiment most fascinating).