CRISPR AT TEN

 In the Cairo souk

The NY Times has provided us with a brief discussion of the discovery, usage, and functionality of the almost-famous biological tool, CRISPR.  If you have been diligent in following this blog, nothing here will surprise you.  Read it anyway; it will refresh your memory.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/crispr/FMfcgzGpGdmqLbBnhzvwNwvNDxCFWxGc 

As you know, CRISPR is a powerful “gene editing” devise, discovered and made available to medical science by Drs Jennifer Doudna and Emanuel Charpentier about ten years ago.  The discovery was so important that the pair won the Nobel Prize almost immediately – rather than having to wait 20 or so years, as is commonly the case.

CRISPR stands for CLUSTERED REGULARLY INTERSPACED SHORT PALENDROMIC REPEATS, in case you had forgotten.  We (humankind) learned of it through studies of bacteria, which ubiquitous tribe had evolved it as a protection against viruses.  CRISPR allows one to fabricate a molecule that can search out an undesirable stretch of DNA, and cut it out – and maybe even replace it with something better.  This sounds like an immeasurably potent weapon against disease – even OVCA.  However, I am a little disappointed at progress to date – but, heck, these things take time, I guess.

As you surely can imagine, CRISPR has spawned a bunch of corporate activity.   One such company, Intellia Theraputics has been cleaning up big-time.  Alas, another, with Dr. Doudna in personal attention, has so far been a dog.

Finally, CRISPR is such a big deal that it elicited a full scale biography of Doudna by a prominent biographer, Walter Issacson.  Unfortunately, it isn’t very good.  Dr. Doudna herself wrote a book about the discovery of CRISPR.  It isn’t very good, either.