Genome Editing
What is Genome Editing?
Every cell in your body has DNA. DNA contains all the information your body needs to build and maintain itself. DNA is made up of nucleotides. Nucleotides consist of one of four nitrogen bases, adenine, (A), cytosine, (C), guanine, (G), and thymine, (T), plus a molecule of sugar and a molecule of phosphoric acid. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA. In humans, a complete set of the genome is found in every cell that has a nucleus. There are naturally occurring flaws in the genome. Many of these abnormalities pose little to no threat towards the health of an individual, but in some cases they are dangerous, creating a genetic disease. (1) Genome editing is a possible way to treat organisms being impacted by a genetic disease. It is the process where DNA is either replaced, inserted, or removed from a genome using engineered nucleases, (enzymes that break the chains of nucleotides).
Every cell in your body has DNA. DNA contains all the information your body needs to build and maintain itself. DNA is made up of nucleotides. Nucleotides consist of one of four nitrogen bases, adenine, (A), cytosine, (C), guanine, (G), and thymine, (T), plus a molecule of sugar and a molecule of phosphoric acid. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA. In humans, a complete set of the genome is found in every cell that has a nucleus. There are naturally occurring flaws in the genome. Many of these abnormalities pose little to no threat towards the health of an individual, but in some cases they are dangerous, creating a genetic disease. (1) Genome editing is a possible way to treat organisms being impacted by a genetic disease. It is the process where DNA is either replaced, inserted, or removed from a genome using engineered nucleases, (enzymes that break the chains of nucleotides).
(1) "DNA Structure." Trigger.uic.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Ftigger.uic.edu%2Fclasses%2Fphys%2Fphys461%2Fphys450%2FANJUM04%2F>.
(2) "Explainer: What Is Genomic Editing?" The Conversation. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-genomic-editing-25072>. |