GENETIC ENGINEERING-C.R.I.S.P.R.

GENETIC ENGINEERING-C.R.I.S.P.R.

  

Hey Everyone,

           I'M back with a really interesting topic which will change your perception of reality forever. Imagine you are living in 19th century and someone says to you that the computers will take over everything from shopping to military, from dating to stock market and billions of people will be connected via a web(Internet). Seems absurd right?

but it happened.Science fiction became reality and we are in similar progress today with genetic engineering.Now what is Genetic Engineering? Where it came from? and what is the big revolution in this field?

Genetic Engineering where it all started?

Humans have been Engineering life for thousands of years through selective breeding we strengthened useful traits in plants and animals. We were really good at this but never really understood what it is or how it happened until we discovered the code of life "DeoxyriboNucelic-Acid(DNA)". A complex molecule responsible for growth, evolution,  development, function and reproduction of everything alive. Information is encoded in the structure of the molecule. Four nucleotides are paired that make up a code that caries information like you code your computer programs. Change that code you will change the being carrying it. 

Experiments on DNA!

As soon as DNA was discovered, people tried to tinker it according to their own needs. It all started in 1960's when scientists started to bombard radiations with plants to obtain a useful variation. In 70's scientists inserted DNA snippets on plants, animals and bacteria. The earliest genetic modified animal was born in 1974, lab rats (standard research tool) thus saving millions of lives. Life saving clotting factors, growth hormones, insulins are the result of genetic engineering. The first genetically engineered food  was the flavr savr tomato which went on sale in 1994.It had longer shell life and an anti rotting enzyme. The first foray into human engineering began in the 1990's to treat maternal infertility, babies were made to carry genetic code from 3 humans. Making them the first human with three parents. Today there are muscled pigs, featherless chickens, fast growing salmons to maintain food productivity across the world.

But Engineering life required lot of time patience and it costed more than you could imagine, but all of this changed overnight due to a new technology C.R.I.S.P.R. 

C.R.I.S.P.R(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)

It is a big revolution in genetic engineering. Now how does this revolution happen and how it works?

The ancient war which is still fought is the war between Bacteria and Virus. Bacterio Phages(a virus) hunts bacteria and kills almost 40% of them everyday. They insert their genetic code on bacteria and then use them as factories. Bacterias try their most to resist but they fail as their protection tool is too weak. But, at some cases they survive and they save the part of the virus DNA in their own genetic code in a DNA archive called C.R.I.S.P.R. So next time when the virus attacks the bacteria quickly makes the RNA(RiboNucleicAcid) copy and arms a secret weapon(a protein CAS9). CAS9 is like a DNA surgeon it compares every bit of DNA sample to the virus invader and when it finds an perfect match it activates the defense system. What's awesome is that CAS9 is completely programmable you give a sample of DNA you want to modify and put that system into a living cell.

Aside from cheap,precise and easy C.R.I.S.P.R offers us option to edit live cells(Ya pretty cool right?) in all types of living beings.

C.R.I.S.P.R may be revolutionary but its just a first generation tool. More precise tools are being created and used as you read.

Eradication of Diseases

In 2015, Scientists used CRISPR to cut out HIV virus from living cells. Through crystal therapy in future we might be able to cure HIV, retroviruses and virus that hide inside DNA like herpes and the biggest enemy to man Cancer can be cured this way. As i said it gives means to edit your immune cells and make them better hunters.

Then there are genetic diseases they are thousands of them and there range vary from quietely annoying to real deadly. With CRISPR we can end this. Over 3000 genetic diseases are caused by a single incorrect letter in your DNA,but again with a modified version of CAS9  we can correct the letter and eradicate it for ever.

But the catch is they are limited to the individual and die with them except if you use them on reproductive cells and very early embryo.

Gene Editing on Babies:

In 2015 and 2016 scientists Chinese scientists experimented with human embryos and was partially successful.Regardless of your interest genetic engineering will affect you. Modified humans would alter genome of the entire species because their traits will be passed on to their children. The first babies of genetic engineering will not be fully designed but they will be designed to eliminate a major genetic disease.

Modified humans could become the new standard. They can have enhanced metabolism,perfect eyesight, full hair etc., we could also solve the single biggest factor to our death Aging. We can add a few thousand years to our life through gene editing.

Conclusion

 Though the gene editing on Humans are possible but we know very less about it.We may also create unknown defects due to wrong edits that may alter reality if goes unnoticed. The gene edit might cure a disease as stated but may also trigger unwanted changes.Only by participation we can make sure the research is guided by caution, reason, transparency and oversight. It is a bit scary but genetic engineering might just be the next step in the natural evolution of intelligence species in the universe. We might end disease, we could fly, we could travel to galaxies. There's no limit when it comes to a topic this wide. Whatever may be your opinion the future depends on genetic engineering.

Fact Flash:

The human body contains Trillions of cells. And each cell consists of about 1.5 billion base pairs.If all the DNA in our body was stretched it would reach the sun and back more than 600 times..! (WOW)

I guess this blog was helpful in understanding what is genetic engineering and C.R.I.S.P.R. If you have any doubts regarding the concepts explained feel free to leave a comment..!

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.....................Keep Calm and Love Engineering...................