We are one step closer to a real-life Spider-Man through CRISPR gene editing. Scientists have chosen the common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) as the first spider to spin red silk via CRISPR gene editing.
How does it work? First, they cut out specific parts of the DNA, and then, using the cell’s natural recombination mechanism, “A segment of DNA can be removed by using two guide RNAs that target separate sites; after cleavage, the two separate ends are joined together while the intervening sequence is removed”-CRISPR therapeutics. This tech was repurposed in 2012 as a gene editing tool, but research started in 1987 to study bacteria.
In 2012, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier discovered how CRISPR could be reengineered into a DNA-cutting tool using modern tech. What can this tech be used for in the betterment of humanity? This could be the way cancer is cured, or any number of current incurable diseases, such as blindness, type 1 diabetes, or Crohn’s disease.
This gene editing tech could also be used to speed up human evolution by a century just by cutting DNA and replacing it with new ones. This could also make humans more suited for the environment they live in, such as rainforests. If this technology were to be used in this way, people could blend in like a chameleon. Like in the desert, the human vacuole cells could hold more water for better hydration, like the thorny devil lizard. Whatever the way gene editing tech goes it’s going to be interesting to see where this leads humanity.
