In just a few simple and routine steps, Martin and I had selected an arbitrary DNA sequence within the 3.2-billion-letter human genome, designed a version of CRISPR to edit it, and watched as the tiny molecular machinery followed through with its new programming—all inside living human cells. With that success, we had validated our new technology that offered scientists the remarkable ability to rewrite the code of life with surgical precision and astonishing simplicity. In what felt like no time at all, CRISPR had already caught up to almost twenty years of research and development in other
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