Eli Lilly’s Inluriyo Gains FDA Approval for Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment 
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Reaches New Heights but Ends in Setback 
Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage 
FDA Adds Fatal Risk Warning to J&J and Legend Biotech’s Carvykti Cancer Therapy 
NASA Astronauts Wilmore and Williams Recover After Boeing Starliner Delay 
Lab-grown meat: you may find it icky, but it could drive forward medical research 
Trump Administration to Launch Autism Initiatives Targeting Acetaminophen Use and New Treatment Options 
Neuralink Expands Brain Implant Trials with 12 Global Patients 
Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life 
Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission 
Astronomers have discovered another puzzling interstellar object − this third one is big, bright and fast 
SpaceX’s Starship Completes 11th Test Flight, Paving Way for Moon and Mars Missions 
Tabletop particle accelerator could transform medicine and materials science 
NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead 
CDC Vaccine Review Sparks Controversy Over Thimerosal Study Citation 
Science regularly goes through cycles of fads that regularly embodies particular generations. In the 80s, it’s climate change and in the 90s, it was the internet. This time, it seems the gene-editing tool CRISPR is starting to steal the spotlight from other sectors in the scientific community and it’s not exactly hard to see why. It holds the potential to allow for major transformations on the genetic level.
As Futurism notes, CRISPR is basically causing a revolution within the scientific community, particularly in Biology. Being the single most powerful tool for manipulating organisms at a genetic level, it can be used to change the properties of absolutely anything. Little wonder why so many fear the method, with some imagining a future where people walk around with tails and horns.
In any case, CRISPR was awarded the 2015 Breakthrough of the Year award by Science magazine. It also found a cozy home on the pages of numerous prestigious publications, including the New Yorker and even entertainment media like The Hollywood Reporter are getting in on the game. There is even a TV series planned by NBC, which will feature CRISPR and have Jennifer Lopez as the lead.
The revolutionary technique is also starting to make its way outside of laboratories and to middle schools, NPR reports. There are numerous special sessions all over the country where students of all ages are introduced to the wondrous world of genetic manipulation.
This is made possible because, despite its highly effective nature in editing genes, CRISPR is also incredibly cheap. Students can get a kit for only $150 and with that, they can do things like creating a naturally spicy mango or a gerbil that changes colors.
What’s more, scientists are only beginning to scratch the full potential of the tool. In the coming years, biologists will be unleashing CRISPR on some of the world’s deadliest diseases, with some touching on the matter of immortality.
