CRISPR – an acronym for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats” – allows genetic material to be added, removed or altered at particular locations in the genome. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.
The best-known technology is called CRISPR-Cas9 gene scissors (CRISPR-associated protein 9), for which the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the American scientist Jennifer A. Doudna and French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier in recognition of their discovery. Developed about a decade ago, it has already proved impressively effective in treating a range of diseases – cancer, liver diseases, genetic syndromes and more.