 CRISPR has been making a lot of headlines in the world of genetic engineering recently, and no surprise either. I mean, the things it's done and is capable of doing is just crazy, yet most people don't know what exactly CRISPR is and how it works, so in this video we're going to be taking a look at just that. The origins of CRISPR technology are quite humble. You see, it was discovered that bacteria had a natural mechanism for protecting themselves against invasion from viruses. When invaded by a virus, bacteria capture some of the viral DNA and store them in segments of DNA called CRISPR arrays. This allows the bacteria to remember the specific virus, as well as other strands closely related to it. So that way, if it's ever invaded again, it will instantly recognize it's invaded and produce the complementary RNA sequence to the CRISPR arrays, which guide an enzyme called Cas9 to the specific parts of the invading virus's DNA, which complement the RNA where it's cleaved, thereby rendering the viral DNA useless. So how do researchers use this in a lab? Well, let's say there was a specific part of a DNA sequence scientists want to edit. What they do is create a strand of RNA that is complementary to the DNA we have and attach that RNA to a Cas9 enzyme. The Cas9 enzyme guided by the RNA sequence finds a target DNA sequence and cuts the DNA at that specific location. When the DNA is cut, researchers can proceed to add or delete strands of customized DNA using the cell's natural DNA repair mechanisms and enzymes. Outside of the lab, CRISPR has many applications as well. In agriculture, it can be used to grow plants that are bigger and more disease resistant, and in one case, CRISPR was used to make low-fat pigs for healthier bacon. Most importantly, it's making strides in the medical field where it's being used to combat genetic disorders such as sickle cell amenia and is now even being used in the fight against diseases like HIV and cancer. As promising as CRISPR is, only time will be able to tell what the fate of this technology is. But, while you don't know what will become of gene editing in the future, you do at least know what exactly CRISPR is and how it can be used. We'll go more in-depth about the ethics as well as more advanced application of the technology in later videos. And for now, I wanted to help you understand the very basics of this technology. Anyways, that's all for today. If you wish to learn more about genetic technology as well as other topics in biology and the natural sciences, then be sure to hit that subscribe button. And as always, stay tuned for more science videos.