We get great news from Nature magazine. This week the FDA announced the approval of the first detection test for SARS-CoV-2 that is based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology. This test uses CRISPR machinery to detect virus sequences in samples taken from the nose, mouth or throat. If genetic material from the virus is present (and therefore positive), a protein linked to the CRISPR system will generate fluorescence.
CRISPR-Cas9 is a genetic editing technique, that is, it allows the DNA of an organism to be modified. Its precision, speed and low economic cost, compared to other genetic editing techniques, make CRISPR among the most important scientific advances of the century. But what exactly can be done with it?
In the field of medicine, this technique has a multitude of applications, and it is very likely that in the future it will cure genetic diseases such as hemophilia or cystic fibrosis, but also other more complex diseases such as AIDS.
