Advances in agriculture are being powered by CRISPR to boost carbon capture

While humans have been genetically modifying plants for millennia by selectively breeding organisms with certain traits, gene-editing tools like CRISPR have further enhanced plants, conferring resistance to drought, pests, and diseases.

CRISPR allows scientists to cut out and replace faulty or unwanted DNA, which can help treat genetic disorders, such as sickle cell disease, and create genetically modified organisms, such as allergen-free foods.

Genetic engineering has accelerated millennia of altering various crops' genes

Although farmers have long cross-bred crops to obtain plants with specific colors, sizes, and other characteristics, these processes took significant time. Today, genetic modification in agriculture involves scientists altering an organism's DNA for various purposes, including enhancing pathogen resistance, removing allergens, and delaying spoilage.

CRISPR is a gene-editing tool that lets scientists cut out and replace damaged DNA

Originally a bacterial defense system against viruses, CRISPR uses guide RNA and a protein called Cas9 to identify and cut specific DNA sequences. Scientists can repurpose this system to switch off faulty genes, insert new ones to treat genetic diseases, or modify organs grown in other animals so that they appear less foreign to a human immune system.

A deeper (nontechnical) dive into how CRISPR works

Extra crispy? No, it's CRISPR, but this gene-editing technology is "extra" in the sense of being momentous and destined to change everything. Through CRISPR, scientist exploit a quirk in bacteria immune systems, allowing them to potentially, and quickly, control genes, remove undesirable traits, and add preferred ones. The possibilities and applications are endless.

Restoring vision in impaired patients via CRISPR

Since CRISPR was revealed as a gene editing tool in 2012, it has been on an accelerated track to real-world applications. Among other clinical demonstrations, doctors have now injected a CRISPR treatment directly into eye cells, helping vision-impaired patients see shapes and colors again.

CRISPR turns 10 years old

When Dr. Jennifer Doudna and colleagues released a paper in 2012 demonstrating the ability to harness the cell's natural immunity machinery to edit DNA, it received little fanfare. A decade later, the gene editing technology has led to innovations in medicine, evolution, and agriculture—and raised profound ethical questions about altering human DNA.

CRISPR-Cas9 enables precise genome editing using a simple RNA-guided system

Jennifer Doudna's research uncovered how bacteria use the tool as an immune defense by cutting viral DNA. She and Emmanuelle Charpentier received the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry for showing how this mechanism could be engineered to target and edit genes in living cells.

Research on bacterial cultures used in yogurt production led to CRISPR's discovery

Scientists learned it was a microbial immune system that could be repurposed to protect dairy cultures from viruses. Today, nearly all yogurt is made with CRISPRized bacteria, as are genetically modified crops like herbicide-resistant corn, wheat, and soy.

CRISPR technology is removing allergens from common foods

Proteins responsible for allergies to eggs, milk, wheat, peanuts, and other foods can be genetically edited out of foods to reduce the risk of life-threatening reactions. The technique has also been used to produce caffeine-free coffee beans, spicier tomatoes, allergen-free pets, and more nutritious fish.

Different enzymes can be used in the CRISPR system to modify how DNA is cut

The system uses RNA sequences to guide enzymes like Cas9 to specific spots in DNA, where they cut or modify genes. Unlike Cas9, the Cpf1 enzyme makes staggered cuts, which helps insert new DNA more cleanly.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

How MIT researchers have used genetic mutations to improve photosynthesis efficiency

Recognizing that RuBisCO—a protein that binds carbon dioxide to other compounds to produce the building blocks of organic molecules—often mistakenly binds oxygen, scientists performed directed evolution experiments to modify the geometry of a bacterial version of the protein to cause it to preferentially interact with carbon dioxide over oxygen.

See how a novel gene editing technique called base editing can create changes in a single DNA base, using a more precise targeting approach than CRISPR-Cas9.

Explaining CRISPR at five levels of technical detail

CRISPR is a new area of biomedical science that enables gene editing and could be the key to eventually curing diseases like autism or cancer. WIRED challenges biologist Neville Sanjana to explain this concept to 5 different people; a 7-year-old, a 14-year-old, a college student, a grad student and a CRISPR expert.

Synthetic biology can prevent extinction by creating create disease-resilient plants and animals

Through gene editing and the deployment of artificial cells, scientists can leverage learnings from the genetic sequencing of animals with known resistances to protect endangered species. Gene editing of certain species, such as mosquitoes, can also reduce their ability to spread diseases like malaria between humans.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

How scientists are improving on photosynthesis

Researchers increased yield in soy plants by making them better at photosynthesis, the process that powers life. The findings hold promise for feeding a warming world.

Researchers are breeding genetically modified mosquitoes to be malaria-resistant.

CRISPR can't fix faulty mitochondria

Gene editing via CRISPR could theoretically fix many issues in biology, but editing the mitochondrial genome has remained challenging. In recent years, there has been some progress reaching these cellular powerhouses. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Despite its potential, CRISPR still fails 15% of the time

Biochemists from UIC found that persistent Cas9 binding to double-strand breaks impacts DNA repair efficiency and the effectiveness of the gene editing tool. RNA polymerase collisions also dislodge Cas9, which affects the efficiency of the tool.

The research pipelines being explored by the RIPE Project to improve photosynthesis

These include engineering plants with faster stomata, which would allow photosynthesis to resume more quickly amid fluctuations in available light due to clouds or shading from other plants, and resolving bottlenecks in the regeneration of RuBP, the molecule to which carbon dioxide is fixed during photosynthesis to initiate the Calvin cycle. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier discuss CRISPR

Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier's were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for research focused on understanding and adapting the CRISPR-Cas9 system to precisely edit DNA sequences in other organisms. Doudna has indicated that the system can potentially treat genetic forms of blindness and high cholesterol.

As of February 2025, there are more than 150 clinical trials using CRISPR technology

The clinical trials are designed to determine whether experimental CRISPR-related therapies are safe and effective. The majority of trials involve treatments for blood disorders, including beta thalassemia.

Malaria mosquitoes in a lab were wiped out using CRISPR

Scientists at Imperial College London disabled a gene in female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes to make them infertile and propagated the infertility mutation at unnaturally high rates using a gene drive. The entire population collapsed within a dozen generations, showing promise for subsequent with mosquitoes in mimicked tropical environments.

Gene therapy, a hope of the Human Genome Project, has successfully treated a baby born with a rare urea cycle disorder that causes toxic ammonia level buildup.

TIGR may supplement CRISPR by providing more refined DNA targeting

The tandem interspaced guide RNA is primarily found in viruses—unlike CRISPR, which is bacterial in origin—and is smaller than CRISPR, making it easier to deliver into cells. The TIGR-Tas system appears to read both sides of the DNA double helix and opens a smaller segment of DNA for repairs, improving the precision of single letter modification.

Scientists create the first CRISPR-modified spider to enhance its silk proteins

A research group at the University of Bayreuth used CRISPR-Cas9 to genetically modify spiders to produce glowing red silk. Spider silk is five times stronger than steel by weight, and this research paves the way for developing new silk functionalities.

Epigenetic editing—altering gene expression by removing or adding chemical groups on DNA—is making significant strides in the lab, even lowering cholesterol in monkey experiments by about 70%. (Free w/email.)

Inside Australia's National Sea Simulator, scientists are cross-breeding coral species and using CRISPR to genetically engineer heat-resistant corals to withstand warming reefs worldwide.

The first CRISPR-approved treatment was for sickle cell anemia in 2023

Victoria Gray was the first patient to receive a CRISPR-based therapy, which eliminated her symptoms and restored her health. The therapy's initial cost of $2.2M has kept it out of reach of many patients.

Genetic engineering will change everything forever

Designer babies, the end of diseases, genetically modified humans that never age. Outrageous things that used to be science fiction are suddenly becoming reality. As scientists increasingly understand how specific genes cause disease, the possibility of engineering our genes to not only "fix" problems but enhance our natural ability grows.

De-extinction techniques create new species from existing organisms

Rather than recovering a genetic sample of a lost species and editing it with that of living creature—as has been depicted in science fiction—scientists begin with living cells from close genetic relatives and use tools like CRISPR to swap in extinct versions of specific traits to create new hybrid species.

How are scientists turning deserts into farmland?

This article explores how engineers are using a liquid nanoclay solution to transform barren deserts into productive fruit farms, drawing inspiration from how clay particles carried by floodwaters in the Nile Delta used to improve the fertility of...

Learn how environmental conditions are optimized to increase bioremediation efficacy

Through biostimulation, Indigenous microbes are provided with moisture, nutrients, or oxygen to prevent their death and ensure optimal progression of their biochemical reactions. Bioaugmentation can introduce new microbial cultures to target specific compounds not natively found in the environment, while landfarming can spread or aerate contaminated soil to improve access to contaminants.

How greenhouse gases and climate change impact the efficiency of photosynthesis

A review in the Journal of Experimental Botany found that higher temperatures reduce the efficiency of enzymes involved in photosynthesis and impair a plant's ability to control water loss and regulate carbon dioxide uptake. While increased carbon dioxide levels are understood to accelerate plant growth by boosting photosynthesis, researchers suggest these effects more than offset the potential gain.

A weed from the mustard family facilitated the molecular era of botany

The small genome and rapid growth cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana have made it an ideal organism for genetic studies, with over 100,000 research papers exploring topics such as disease resistance, stress tolerance, and response to light. The first studies were done on plants that grew from seeds saved during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

CRISPR-Cas systems act as genetic memory banks for defending bacterial cells

When viruses called phages inject DNA into bacteria, some bacterial species store bits of this DNA in their own genomes. This allows them to recognize and destroy the same virus if it attacks again.

Agricultural intensification has accelerated declines in pollinator populations

The practice of using farmland more frequently to increase its yield increases the number of residual pesticides and decreases botanical biodiversity. These processes tend to decrease carrying capacity for pollinators by eliminating food sources and nesting habitats.