Gene editing could be the future, but doctors think humans might be immune to it
Yellow, caution flag raised
Our body’s own immune system could present a roadblock to the efforts of medical researchers who aim to develop gene therapies based on the genome-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9.
The genome editing tool topped a few lists of the best science developments in 2017 and it’s poised to garner great interest this year as well. It’s been called a revolutionary tool to remove and repair DNA and add new genes, quickly and easily. The tool is like a Swiss Army knife, versatile enough to cut just a single letter of DNA or to insert several.
‘What we found, and it was somewhat surprisingly, is that adult human beings have developed immunity to the Cas9 proteins that we generally have been using to do genome editing.’– Dr. Matthew Porteus
