What : CRISPR technique

Why : Alters genes linked to male fertility—creating sterile offspring—and female flight in Aedes aegypti

Benefits : Avoid reduction of diseases responsible for spreading diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika

CRISPR

• Basically a gene-editing technology that can be used for the purpose of altering genetic expression or changing the genome of an organism.
• The technology can be used for targeting specific stretches of an entire genetic code or editing the DNA at particular locations.
• Allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function.
• Many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops. However, its promise also raises ethical concerns.
• Behaves like a cut-and-paste mechanism on DNA strands that contain genetic information.
• The specific location of the genetic codes that need to be changed, or “edited”, is identified on the DNA strand, and then, using the Cas9 protein, which acts like a pair of scissors, that location is cut off from the strand. A DNA strand, when broken, has a natural tendency to repair itself.
• Scientists intervene during this auto-repair process, supplying the desired sequence of genetic codes that binds itself with the broken DNA strand.