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The 7 Craziest Ways CRISPR Is Being Used Right Now
From turning pigs into organ donors to changing the color of flowers, the future of gene-editing tech is wacky and wonderful
There are few modern-day scientific innovations with implications as profound as the gene-editing technology CRISPR, which allows scientists to precisely cut and alter the DNA of any cell. Scientists’ use of CRISPR has taken off, in part because it’s so much easier to use than earlier iterations of gene editing. Though CRISPR hasn’t cured disease or ended world hunger yet, it’s already being used in some amazing ways. We’ve rounded up seven of the most wild examples.
1. Turning pigs into organ donors
For decades, scientists have considered the controversial idea that animals could provide a ready supply of organs to help ease the organ transplant shortage. More than 114,000 people are currently waiting to receive a transplant in the U.S., alone. Past attempts to implant animal organs into people have failed because the human body’s immune system rejects foreign tissue. (The first heart transplant ever performed in a human was in 1964, with a chimpanzee heart. The patient died within two hours.) Another barrier is the possibility that…
