The mystery of life is hidden in every segment of gene sequence. Genes are the basic units that control biological traits and carry biological genetic information. Once a gene mutates, it may cause various genetic diseases, cancers and other diseases. For a long time, humans have hoped to cure various difficult diseases and rewrite the code of life by modifying genes — and the emergence of gene editing technology has made this dream possible, opening a new era of precision medicine and bringing unprecedented hope for human health.

Simply put, gene editing technology is to “cut, paste and modify” the gene sequence of organisms, accurately modifying the wrong segments in genes like editing documents, so as to achieve the purpose of treating diseases and improving species. At present, the most mature and widely used gene editing technology is CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Derived from the immune system of bacteria, this technology can accurately identify and cut specific gene sequences, with the advantages of simple operation, high efficiency and low cost. Since its discovery in 2012, it has been rapidly applied in various fields such as medicine and biology.

In the medical field, the application of gene editing technology has brought revolutionary breakthroughs to the treatment of genetic diseases. Genetic diseases are diseases caused by gene defects. At present, there are thousands of known genetic diseases. Traditional treatment methods can only relieve symptoms but cannot cure them fundamentally. Gene editing technology can accurately modify pathogenic genes and cure genetic diseases from the root. For example, sickle cell anemia is a common genetic disease caused by mutations in the hemoglobin gene. Through CRISPR-Cas9 technology, doctors can accurately modify the pathogenic genes in patients’ bodies, allowing patients to produce normal hemoglobin, thereby achieving the purpose of curing the disease. In addition, gene editing technology can also be applied to the treatment of cancer. By editing the genes of immune cells, it can enhance the ability of immune cells to recognize and kill cancer cells, realize “immunotherapy”, and bring new hope to cancer patients.

In the field of biology, gene editing technology can help scientists better study the function of genes and explore the mystery of life. By editing the genes of animals and plants, scientists can cultivate better species — for example, cultivating crops that are resistant to diseases and insect pests and have high yields to improve agricultural output; cultivating livestock and poultry that are disease-resistant and have longer lifespans to improve the level of animal husbandry development; cultivating model organisms for new drug research and development to accelerate the process of new drug research and development.

However, the development of gene editing technology also faces many ethical and technical challenges. From an ethical perspective, if gene editing technology is applied to human germ cells, it may change human genetic information, trigger ethical controversies such as “designer babies”, and damage human genetic diversity; from a technical perspective, the accuracy of gene editing technology still needs to be improved, and “off-target” phenomena may occur, mistakenly editing normal genes and causing new diseases; in addition, there are legal gaps in the application of gene editing technology, and it is necessary to establish a sound legal system to regulate the use of technology and avoid abuse.

In the future, the development of gene editing technology will surely move towards the direction of “more accurate, more secure and more standardized”. Scientists will continue to optimize gene editing technology, improve the accuracy of the technology, and reduce the occurrence of “off-target” phenomena; countries around the world will strengthen ethical supervision and legal construction, clarify the application boundaries of gene editing technology, and prohibit the abuse of technology; gene editing technology will integrate deeply with artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies, promote the development of precision medicine, help humans cure more difficult diseases, and protect human health.