Genetic scissors: Crispr / Cas9, by Miguel Méndez Rodulfo



[ad_1]

Humanity has leapt forward with the greatest scientific breakthrough of the last 30 years, which means the genetic technology of Crispr / Cas9. This is a gene publication tool; which means that nature is now correctable and that human DNA can be modified precisely. This possibility opens infinite doors and is the birth of the new science. The acronym Crispr / Cas9 comes from the English Clustered Regular Palindromic Short Repeats, Spanish "Short Palindromic Repetitions Grouped and Regularly interspaced"; and the name of a series of proteins, mainly nucleases, which have been named as that of Crispr Associated System. Palindromic means that they can be read equal right and vice versa. This discovery stems from the observation of bacteria, when they act against the viruses that invade them, via a genome publisher that they own and that allows them to defend themselves against virulent attacks. From this bacterial feature has been derived the mechanism of genetic scissors that allows to modify the DNA very selectively.

The CC9 is very easy to program, it is very efficient and versatile, unlike the previous techniques, because it allows many distinct types of change in the genome and in gene expression. We can now rewrite the genome of any cell in any organism. It is applicable to cells and tissues, humans, animals and plants. In the way this mechanism works, it would act as a kind of molecular scissors capable of cutting any molecule of DNA by doing it in a very precise and totally controlled way. This ability to cut DNA is what allows to change its sequence, eliminating or inserting new genetic material. Previous technology of restriction enzymes was acting on specific sites by cutting DNA; the Crispr / Cas9 system is more than that, since it cuts and inserts the DNA where it was cut; in other words, in CC9, the result is positive, but also positive

The discovery of such an important mechanism is due to teams of researchers led by Drs Emmanuelle Charpentier of Umeå University. and Jennifer Doudna of the University of California at Berkeley, They have managed to turn this natural defense mechanism of bacteria into a "programmable" editing tool, which serves to cut off any strand of DNA in vitro.

For botanists, the CC9 is a dream come true since the creation of a publisher. genome took about 6 months and cost about 25,000 USD; Today, it is manufactured in a few days and amounts to 100 USD. We can imagine the speed with which this opens to experimentation. Researchers in this field are already working on designing plants that are more resistant to salinity and drought, which would give them the luxury of seeing the end of hunger in the world. There is talk of a second green revolution. Since technology is equally applicable to humans, the treatment of AIDS, cancer and most of the diseases that affect us today is hopeful. Of course, science opens endless possibilities, but we are entering the mobile field of ethics fields, as has happened over the course of history with new inventions that change paradigms and create new eras.

As the world progresses in leaps and bounds, in Venezuela we are only moving backward. At least we have dropped 70 years. Sad to admit, but even if it hurts, that's the reality. However, the bright lights in the world also illuminate Venezuela, as they always say about Sabanetero: no one has been so lucky, so long.

Miguel Méndez Rodulfo

11/09/18

[ad_2]
Source link