Infographic: Gene editing and CRISPR in action

Much of the excitement around gene editing is fueled by its potential to treat or prevent human diseases. There are thousands of genetic disorders that can be passed on from one generation to the next; many are serious and debilitating.

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Genes are the biological templates the body uses to make the structural proteins and enzymes needed to build and maintain tissues and organs. They are made up of strands of genetic code, denoted by the letters G, C, T and A. Humans have about 20,000 genes bundled into 23 pairs of chromosomes all coiled up in the nucleus of nearly every cell in the body.

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Most drugs are small molecules that can be ferried around the body in the bloodstream and delivered to organs and tissues on the way. The gene editing molecules are huge by comparison and have trouble getting into cells. But it can be done. One way is to pack the gene editing molecules into harmless viruses that infect particular types of cell.

Read full, original post: Gene editing – and what it really means to rewrite the code of life