CRISPR: The ‘New Era Of Medicine’

One of the most forward thinking and innovative recent discoveries in medicine is CRISPR. CRISPR is a gene editing tool that is being used to edit the DNA of those suffering from serious genetic disorders. Created in 2012 by Dr Jennifer Doudna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats have changed the lives of so many, and will change the lives of so many more in years to come.

So, where did CRISPR originate from? Whilst Doudna and Charpentier were undoubtedly the first to reform CRISPR as a gene editing tool, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for their efforts, the history of CRISPR runs a little farther back. 

In 1993, Dr Mojica, a Spanish scientist named the tool CRISPR, and proposed that it was a component of the bacterial immune system. Since this initial discovery, the technology of CRISPR has progressed rapidly. In mid 2019, the initial clinical trials began. Cells were harvested from sickle cell patients, where they were edited in vitro using CRISPR. Following this success, the tool was injected into human patients for the first time in 2020. At this point, the technique ‘gene therapy’ was used to treat hereditary blindness. It now plays a role in many processes, such as RNA editing, base and prime editing, live imaging and diagnostics.

The three most important applications of CRISPR have revolutionized our time. Here they are:

1. Cell and gene therapies

CRISPR has the potential to cure a range of genetic diseases, from neurodegenerative diseases to cancer. As previously mentioned, the initial trial on sickle cell disease patients restored fetal haemoglobin, which removed the need for a functional copy of adult haemoglobin, effectively curing patients. Although CRISPR trials are still only just beginning, the prospects of its ability to cure cancer with immunotherapy and cystic fibrosis make CRISPR one of the most vital aspects of the future of medicine.

2. Diagnostics

During the COVID 19 pandemic, CRISPR was given the green light to be used in labs to identify the virus. It performed this by detecting genetic material from the virus. Similar diagnostics have recently been engineered to detect both infectious and genetic diseases. The most monumental achievement along this path was that of Dr. Kiana Aran, who combined CRISPR and other technologies to create a miniscule chip that can detect pathogens known as SNPs (pathogenic single nucleotide polymorphisms). Since 50% of disease-causing mutations are SNPs, this means CRISPR and its related inventions are in prime place to create a breakthrough in medicine as a whole.

3. Bioenergy

CRISPR is one of the leading alternatives to fossil fuels, and is currently being developed by experts to perform this function. The prospects of CRISPR’s ability to produce biodiesel and biofuels have been an exciting topic of conversation for scientists recently. However this project is definitely still in its trial phase, with a good many barriers still preventing the full time use of CRISPR as a fuel.

To finish, it is clear that CRISPR has had a good few monumental impacts on the scientific world. From diagnosing COVID 19 to displaying the vital role of women in STEMM, CRISPR has been changing our world for the better. As mentioned, the immense achievements of Doudna and Charpentier in being the first ever all female team to win the Nobel Peace Prize has provided unfaltering evidence for the importance of women in STEMM, inspiring both girls and boys to make a difference and help their planet.

Sources/References

Synthego, no date. CRISPR [online]. Available at: https://www.synthego.com/learn/crispr (Accessed: 20 September 2025).

CRISPR Therapeutics, Published 2013. CRISPRTX [online]. Available at: https://crisprtx.com/ (Accessed: 22 September 2025).