CRISPR technology a silver lining in combating COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Technological advancements have trigged the research arena of life sciences. This has resulted not only in the co-evolution of science and technology but also in building up novel ways to tackle life threatening pandemic like situations. The use of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology in combating the recent COVID-19 pandemic is evidence to this. The technique was originally identified as a microbial adaptive immune system, in which the microbes use RNA-guided nucleases to cleave foreign genetic material. Subsequently, molecular biologists started harvesting this technique in accelerating the genetic engineering/ chimeric DNA methods. During COVID-19 outbreak, the scientists are trying to mould the CRISPR technology in the successful and rapid detection of the virus and also in the treatment of COVID-19 infection. Thus, the application of this technique comes as a ray of hope not only for fighting against COVID but also can be used as weapon for unseen future pandemics.