The Brown Notebook

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A post shared by medXclusive (@medxclusive) on Apr 20, 2019 at 6:08pm PDT

Genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism’s DNA. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed. A recent one is known as CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.

CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted from a naturally occurring genome editing system in bacteria. The CRISPR-Cas9 system works similarly in the lab. Researchers create a small piece of RNA with a short “guide” sequence that binds to a specific target sequence of DNA in a genome. The RNA also binds to the Cas9 enzyme. As in bacteria, the modified RNA is used to recognize the DNA sequence, and the Cas9 enzyme cuts the DNA at the targeted location. 

Clay brick with a stamped cuneiform inscription and a dog’s pawprints.

This is secret code used by 19th-century diarist Anne Lister to record her lesbian relationships! And underneath, and sample of her diaries. Anne wrote 6600 pages, or almost 4 million words of these diaries, giving us a treasure trove of information about her life, and one of the only first-hand accounts we have of female same-sex relationships in the 19th century.

Now you too can communicate with your friends in secret lesbian code!