Gene-editing tool CRISPR has helped create a new treatment for sickle cell disease, and other applications are being tested in numerous ongoing clinical trials. Yet scholars still did not know about its ancenstral origins. Earlier this month, multiple UC Berkeley researchers from professor Jennifer Doudna’s group at the Innovative Genomics Institute published their discovery of VIPR, a new genome editor found in viruses, which they hypothesize to be an ancestral predecessor of CRISPR. In nature, both CRISPR and VIPR are actually defense systems within microorganisms, reading and remembering the genes of invading viruses. Read more through the link in bio. ✍️: Emily Shu 📸: Courtesy of Andy Murdock . . . #ucberkeley #dailycal #berkeley #jenniferdoudna #crispr #igi