Building the next Microsoft Word & Google Docs of Gene Editing — Prime Editing?
Can you imagine having the capability to prevent 90% of genetic diseases?
You might think that it is something impossible, out-of-the-world, or crazy.
Well, you’re wrong.
Enter “Prime Editing”
The first-ever technique in the DNA editing techniques toolbox (yes, that’s a thing) that allows the alteration of DNA on a whole new level.
Let’s take a quick recap.
By now, you’ve probably heard of the well-known CRISPR technology, best known as “molecular scissors” (If you need a quick recap, click here) . What CRISPR does, in a nutshell, is find DNA in a cell and alter it. CRISPR is the epitome of gene editing, allowing the alteration and modification of gene functions.
In 2019, scientists developed a new technique called prime editing, which is the latest innovation in the DNA editing space and already promising the future of medtech.
Let’s say that CRISPR is cutting and editing the DNA, prime editing goes even forward and offers a complete word processing suite by giving the power to edit the individual bases that make up DNA.
The scientists that developed prime editing state that “there are more than 75,000 genetic mutations linked to human disease” and prime editing can help eradicate these diseases by giving researchers the power to edit bases that cause these mutations.
CRISPR opened up huge avenues for innovation, from CRSIPRed food to the prevention of multiple diseases, despite only having the capabilities of ‘the built-in Notepad in your computer’. Imagine the possibilities unlocked when you get a taste of ‘Microsoft Word or Google Docs for gene editing’ that gives you the ability to take it to the next level.
Prime Medicine is leading the way in prime editing by providing gene editing capabilities to eliminate genetic diseases in humans with state-of-the-art technology that ensures “find-and-search” ability allowing researchers to find diseases causing sequences in the DNA and replace them with normal ones. Saving hundreds and thousands of dollars (or any currency) worth of equipment, not to mention the time and effort.
Prime editing promises a future where around 90% of genetic diseases (yes, this includes sickle cell anemia) can be prevented and hundreds of lives saved. We could achieve DNA modification that is impossible to do today using existing technologies.
Prime editing has huge potential, and it is only right if we are able to tap into the untapped potential of prime editing — an emerging technology discovered in 2019, already disrupting science and technology around the world.
