28
F
Dec
2018
Feature
Cutting
EDGE
Prepare for CRISPR
technology to become
embedded in the
DNA of medical
advancement, writes
Neil Bramwell
J
UST as genetically modified crops have
transformed agriculture, gene editing
using CRISPR technology is opening bold
new frontiers in medical research.
“It’s an extraordinary technology,” says
Professor Peter Koopman, from the University
of Queensland. “It’s potentially a major
revolution in molecular medicine, in the sense
that it would take a lot of guesswork out of
drug-based therapies.”
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced
Short Palindromic Repeats) technology uses an
enzyme — Cas9 — to edit genes to alter DNA
sequences and modify gene function.
Framed by the initial public outcry over
genetically modified (GM) food, however,
tampering with the human genome is subject to
intense regulatory and ethical scrutiny.
In Australia, reviews are in progress of both
the Gene Technology Regulations 2001 and
the Gene Technology Scheme, but proposed
changes do not cover the use of CRISPR-Cas9
technology in humans.
Therefore, unlike some countries,