What Is CRISPR | Vpedia - Empowering knowledge sharing

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as [[bacteria|bacteria]] and [[archaea|archaea]], which play a key role in their antiviral defense system by detecting and destroying DNA from similar [[bacteriophages|bacteriophages]]. The CRISPR sequence is used as a guide to recognize and locate specific strands of DNA, while the Cas9 enzyme cuts the DNA at the targeted location, allowing for precise modifications to be made. CRISPR has been used to develop novel therapies, such as regenerative medicine and gene therapy. According to some sources, CRISPR has been used to treat patients with [[sickle-cell-anemia|sickle cell anemia]] and [[muscular-dystrophy|muscular dystrophy]].