CRISPR gene editing
Jennifer DoudnaEmmanuelle CharpentierFeng Zhang
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
Derived from a defence system bacteria use against viruses, CRISPR-Cas9 made it easy and cheap to cut and change DNA at a chosen site. It was the subject of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 2023 the first CRISPR therapy was approved for sickle-cell disease. An unauthorised edit of human embryos in 2018 drew international condemnation.
For specialists
Jinek et al. (2012) showed that Cas9 is a PAM-dependent DNA endonuclease programmable by a dual tracrRNA:crRNA (later a single guide RNA). Application in mammalian cells was published in 2013 by Cong et al. and Mali et al. Off-target cuts, mosaicism and large deletions are studied as safety issues. Base and prime editing make point changes without double-strand breaks.
Claims
- The Cas9 enzyme can be programmed with a guide RNA to cut any chosen DNA sequence.[1]
Evidence
Connections
Sources
- Article (2012). A programmable dual-RNA–guided DNA endonuclease in adaptive bacterial immunity. Science 337, 816–821DOI 10.1126/science.1225829archive
- Article (2018). Repair of double-strand breaks induced by CRISPR–Cas9 leads to large deletions and complex rearrangements. Nature Biotechnology 36, 765–771DOI 10.1038/nbt.4192archive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). CRISPR gene editing. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/crispr/
@misc{athena_crispr,
title = {CRISPR gene editing},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/crispr/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 28, 2026 · Page history