Have you ever wondered how genetic modification can change our lives. A recent breakthrough that can forever change the way we live and what we perceive as normal. As early as the 1960s, scientists altered plants with radiation to cause random mutations in the genetic code. The idea was to obtain useful plant variations by pure chance, this sometimes worked too. In the 1970s, scientists inserted snippets of DNA into bacteria, plants and animals. To study and modify them for research, medicine, agriculture and just for fun. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The first genetically modified animal was born in 1974, making mice a standard for research, saving millions of lives. In the 1980s, we obtained the first commercial patent for a microbe designed to adsorb oil. Today, we produce many chemicals through artificial life, such as survival factors, clotting factors, growth hormones, and insulin. In the 1990s, there was also a study on human engineering to treat maternal infertility. Babies carrying genetic information from 3 humans were created, making them the first humans to have 3 genetic parents. Today there are super muscular pigs, fast-growing salmon, featherless chickens and transparent frogs. Gene editing was already impressive, but until recently it became expensive, complicated and time-consuming. This has now changed with the revolutionary new technology now coming into the picture CRISPR. Overnight, the cost of engineering dropped by 99% instead of a year, it takes a few weeks to run experiments, and virtually anyone with a lab can do it. CRISPR literally has the potential to change humanity forever. You may be wondering why a revolution suddenly happens and how does it work? Bacteria and viruses have been fighting since the dawn of life. So-called bacteriophages or phages hunt bacteria. Bacteria can sometimes only survive an attack if they activate their most effective antivirus system and save some of the virus's DNA in their own DNA archive of genetic code called CRISPR. Which is stored safely when needed. CRISPR works by making a copy of the DNA you want to modify and insert into the system in a living cell. In addition to being precise, inexpensive and simple, CRISPR offers the ability to modify living cells, turn genes on and off, and target and study DNA sequences. It would also work with microorganisms, plants, animals or humans. In 2015, a scientist used CRISPR to eliminate the HIV virus from living patient cells in the laboratory, proving that it was possible. About a year later, they conducted a larger-scale project with rats carrying the HIV virus in virtually every cell in their body. By simply injecting CRISPR into the rat's tail, they were able to eliminate more than 50% of the virus from cells throughout the body. In a few decades, a CRISPR therapy could cure HIV and other retroviruses, viruses that hide in human DNA like herpes could thus be eradicated. CRISPR could also defeat one of our worst enemies: cancer. CRISPR gives us the means to modify your immune cells and make them better cancer hunters. The first try.