Extra Credit

The two videos linked below are each approximately 45 minutes long. They go into detail about CRISPRs, their history, their mechanism of action, and their promise for medicine. The first video is from a Dutch public broadcasing station, therefore much of the video is not in English and you will need to turn on the subtitles. The second video is a lecture given by Dr. Jennifer Doudna – it may a little dry and technical in parts, but it is a very good explanation and discussion of the topic.


For Extra Credit on your LAB grade only, watch one or both of the videos and answer the following questions. Answers must be uploaded to Canvas by midnight on Tuesday Dec 8th. Don’t go overboard on the answers. I’m not trying to add stress and work during finals. This is extra credit. It can be brief.
1) Who are the scientists credited with discovering the CRISPR-Cas9 system?
2) Based on your understanding of how CRISPRs work, if a person were to use the CRISPR-Cas9 system to change their eye color, would that eye color change be interited by offspring they later have?

3) There are 2 major competing views of how CRISPR-Cas9 technology should be regulated in the future. The first view would be that it wuld be reserved for physicians to provide medically necessary treatments, depending on whether your medical insurance policy provides coverage for genetic engineering. The second envisions trustworthy off-the-shelf CRISPR-Cas9 kits being sold in stores, for the general public to change their own genetics. Traits like eye color, hair color, predisposition for certain cancers or diseases, as well as to be stronger, smarter, etc.
In light of the eugenics videos you watched for Problem Sets 3 and 4, please briefly discuss some pros and cons for these opposing views.