Source: GENETIC LITERACY PROJECT. 5/11/18


When people mention CRISPR, they’re usually breathless over its potential to cure diseases like sickle cell anemia and muscular dystrophy. But CRISPR’s most promising application might not be in health care. It might be in food. Before CRISPR, adding a trait like insect resistance to a plant was imprecise, slow, and costly. Traditional breeding methods introduce unwanted characteristics; GMO technology that inserts genes from other organisms comes with regulatory hurdles and public blowback. With CRISPR, scientists can tweak only the genes they need without introducing foreign DNA.

For more of this story, click here.