CRISPR/Cas9: Newest Tools for Biohacking fun

The announcement in 2012 that a natural phenomenon called CRISPR/Cas9 could be used as a kind of “precision gene editor” has a lot of people thinking. Exactly what does "gene editing" involve? What can be done right now in big labs? What about in your basement? Harvard Medical School professor George Church argued that “garage biologists” should be required to have a license to practice synthetic biology, but right now it’s a kind of Wild West out there. Sound familiar? We survived all those 1980s Commodore 64 computer hacking pranks and learned a lot from them. Then again, they didn’t involve E. coli and the possibility of mass annihilation. This presentation sorts out the biofacts from the biofiction, and suggests how DIY biology fans can use CRISPR/Cas9 to help make things better for themselves and the world.

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