CRISPR Gene Editing

Hi there. My name is CRISPR. I am a tiny, tiny helper, so small you can’t even see me. I am like a little pair of scissors and some super sticky glue all in one. I work inside a very special instruction book that every living thing has, called DNA. This instruction book tells a flower what color to be and tells a puppy if it will have floppy ears or pointy ears. The book also tells you if you will have brown eyes or blue eyes. But sometimes, there is a little mistake in the instructions. A tiny mistake can make a plant feel sick, or it can make a person not feel so good. I was made to help fix those little mistakes.

I was found by two very smart friends, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna. They discovered me inside super tiny living things called bacteria. They saw me working like a little superhero, protecting the bacteria by snipping away yucky germs that tried to make them sick. I was very good at my job. On June 28th, 2012, Emmanuelle and Jennifer shared a wonderful idea with the whole world. They thought that maybe I, the tiny helper, could be used to fix mistakes in the instruction books of plants and people, too. They were so excited to see how I could help everyone.

Now, my job is to help scientists find and fix the little mistakes in the instruction books of all living things. I can help make fruits and veggies grow bigger and yummier. I can also help doctors learn how to make sick people feel all better. I may be super, super small, but I am here to do a very big job. I love helping to make the world a healthier and happier place for you, for the puppies, and for the flowers too.