CRISPR in a New Dimension: Alive in Virtual Reality

“Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats”, or CRISPR, are sequences found in bacterial genomes that indicate previous viral attacks. CRISPR and Cas proteins allow bacteria to recognize and disarm future invading viruses [1]. In gene editing, the CRISPR-Cas9 system allows scientists to cut DNA to alter gene expression which treats genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. In my Cellular and Molecular Biology course, I conducted a CRISPR virtual reality (VR) lab. The purpose of the simulation was to use CRISPR techniques to correct the mutated DNA and cure the individual of sickle cell disease[2].

The simulation began with the affected individual showing the symptoms of extreme pain, paleness, yellow eyes, and weakness. The simulation zoomed into the body starting with the tissue and entering through the bone. The blood vessels were seen and inside, some red blood cells were traveling throughout the vessel. Turning my head, there was a build-up of sickled cells. These trapped cells caused a deficiency in oxygen and nutrient movement. Upon entering a sickle cell, the problem can be identified. 

Hemoglobin, a protein that helps carry oxygen, is supposed to be free-floating in the red blood cell environment. In the sickled cell, the protein was mutated causing it to stick and form long fibers. To fix the mutation and correct the DNA, I entered the blood stem cells in the bone marrow. Their purpose is to divide normal red blood cells. If the blood stem cells are altered, then all produced cells can be made healthy including those that were sickled. Other organelles were visualized while inside the blood stem cell. In the nucleus, the hemoglobin gene was identified with the sickle cell disease mutation highlighted in orange. A CRISPR molecule was designed to cut the target sequence and the Cas9 protein and healthy donor DNA were also seen. The animated gene-editing program moved the Cas9 protein to the mutated DNA, unwound it, and created a double-stranded break so the repair protein could paste in the healthy donor sequence. Through this simulation, it can be seen how pieces of DNA can be replaced using CRISPR. The simulation proved successful when reentering the blood vessel to no longer see sickled cells.

Faye Flam is an American journalist and science columnist who wrote an article entitled “Have Scientific Breakthroughs Declined?” describing how researchers have analyzed a fall in disruptive technologies; ones that make radical changes to their market through innovation. Flam cites a paper published in Nature which claimed that these technologies have been on the decline since 1945. The authors of this piece examined the pattern in how the papers were cited. “They created an index of disruptiveness that measured how much a finding marked a break with the past. A more disruptive paper would be cited by many future papers while previous papers in the same area would be cited less – presumably because they were rendered obsolete” [3]. One of the authors of this study Russell Funk from the University of Minnesota, described how science can benefit from being “shaken up” every so often. Flam agrees that in recent years, science has seen fewer shake-ups, and in Funk’s opinion it is due to the lack of risks taken by funding agents.

Although Flam and other authors believe that scientific breakthroughs are slowing down, this may not necessarily be the case as there have been many recent advances in technology including CRISPR. This innovation will bring cures to diseases caused by DNA mutations. Flam analyzed a paper that looked at the way scientific publishings were cited to determine whether that discovery was disruptive. Although the determination of the disruptiveness is subjective, the novelty, impact, and application of that technology should also be considered. The Nature paper could have been right in that the occurrences of references in a published paper could contribute to its validity, but there are other factors. A scientific paper may also face backlash and controversy, but that by no means indicates that the information should be brushed off. 

Students can gain information about these recent scientific breakthroughs in new ways like virtual reality. Throughout my academic career, scientific advancements have not slowed nor diminished but are being presented in ways to students to understand better and encourage the next generation to problem solve. Although there may be moral and ethical controversies to new technologies such as CRISPR, there is no doubt that this advancement is transformative and disruptive in society today.  


If you are interested in seeing what I saw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlyoJTlpITY&lc=z22hx31geq23djzcuacdp434lf2gp3vwekk1rmll2sdw03c010c 



  1. Redman, M., King, A., Watson, C., & King, D. (2016). What is CRISPR/Cas9?. Archives of disease in childhood. Education and practice edition, 101(4), 213–215. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2016-310459

  2. “CRISPR-VR: Explore Sickle Cell and Genome Editing.” Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), 30 Jan. 2023, innovativegenomics.org/vr/. 

  3. Flam, F.D. “Have Scientific Breakthroughs Declined?” Bloomberg, Bloomberg L.P., 23 Dec. 2023. 

 

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