How does CRISPR work?

CRISPR, short for CRISPR-Cas9, is a genome-editing tool that allows scientists to precisely cut and modify DNA sequences. It has revolutionized the study of genes, helped to enhance crops and improved Health care.

The gene-editing system was originally discovered in bacteria, where it limits infections by clipping viral DNA. Then, in Nobel prize-winning work, this bacterial defense apparatus was co-opted by scientists to devise a new approach to genome editing. 

"It's really the simplicity, the cost and the ease of use" that democratized this editing tool, Alison Van Eenennaam, a livestock geneticist at the University of California, Davis who uses CRISPR to alter the genetics of farm Animals, told Live Science.

Recently, CRISPR has been approved to treat two blood disorders, and early-stage trials reveal its potential to treat inherited blindness. Here's everything you need to know about the groundbreaking Technology.

Related: CRISPR 'will provide cures for genetic diseases that were incurable before,' says renowned biochemist Virginijus Šikšnys 

What is CRISPR?

The CRISPR system includes the following major components:  

CRISPR: "CRISPR" stands for "clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." This unwieldy name describes a pattern of DNA sequences found in bacterial genomes that helps the bacteria fend off viruses.