CRISPR - A DNA Editor ?

If you haven't heard of CRISPR, you should. It could change the human race. And that's no exaggeration, but a series of events that has already begun to take shape. And while you may be tempted to stop after a few minute, its important and I strongly recommend that at the very least you go through all of the below.

Let's start at the beginning.

CRISPR (/ˈkrɪspər/) (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found within the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments from viruses that have previously infected the prokaryote and are used to detect and destroy DNA from similar viruses during subsequent infections. Hence these sequences play a key role in the antiviral defense system of prokaryotes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR

What is CRISPR?
Paul Andersen

The speaker explains how the CRISPR/Cas immune system was identified in bacteria and how the CRISPR/Cas9 system was developed to edit genomes.

CRISPR: History of Discovery
SINGAPORE NIE

What is the formula to discover the next breakthrough? It all begins with observation. In 1987, when a group of Japanese scientists discovered an odd DNA sequence in a type of bacteria, the E.coli.  These repeated sequences were something that had never been seen before. They are palindromic, meaning they read identically forward and backward, for about 30 bases, and are separated by spacers of roughly about 36 bases that are not palindromic in nature.

What you need to know about CRISPR
Ellen Jorgensen

Should we bring back the wooly mammoth? Or edit a human embryo? Or wipe out an entire species that we consider harmful? The genome-editing technology CRISPR has made extraordinary questions like these legitimate — but how does it work? Scientist and community lab advocate Ellen Jorgensen is on a mission to explain the myths and realities of CRISPR, hype-free, to the non-scientists among us.

How CRISPR lets us edit our DNA
Jennifer Doudna
Geneticist Jennifer Doudna co-invented a groundbreaking new technology for editing genes, called CRISPR-Cas9. The tool allows scientists to make precise edits to DNA strands, which could lead to treatments for genetic diseases … but could also be used to create so-called "designer babies." Doudna reviews how CRISPR-Cas9 works — and asks the scientific community to pause and discuss the ethics of this new tool.

CRISPR and the Future of Human Evolution
It's Okay To Be Smart
Now that genetic engineering tools like CRISPR allow us to edit our genes, how will that impact human evolution going forward? Are designer babies or eugenics around the corner? Welcome to a world of nonrandom mutation and unnatural selection.