Meng Bo Soup . . . Gene editing precision "deletes" animal-specific memories - God's scalpel, or Pandora's box?

Not long ago, a research result of the Institute of neuroscience of Peking University has made "gene editing" appear in the public's view again: the research team uses CRISPR gene editing technology to achieve accurate "deletion" of animal specific memory.on March 19, 2020, Wanyou and Yiming team from Institute of neuroscience, Peking University, published a research paper entitled "development of a crispr-sacas9 system for project - and function specific gene editing in the rat brain" online in science advances.based on CRISPR gene editing technology, combined with anterograde / retrograde AAV and activity-dependent cell labeling technology, this study realized the gene editing of pathway specific and function specific neuronal subpopulations, accurately controlled the storage and extinction of specific memory in rats, and provided a powerful strategy for analyzing the advanced cognitive function of the brain.CRISPR / cas9 gene editing technology, generally speaking, is to "modify" the wrong site genes in the genome, so as to restore the normal function of cells.this technology is a game changer in the field of biological science by discovering, cutting and replacing specific parts of DNA through a special programming enzyme called cas9.in 2013, CRISPR / cas9 gene editing technology was born, and human beings began to enter a new era. In this era, human beings can quickly and accurately manipulate genes, change life, conquer cancer, and get rid of genetic diseases. From then on, those distant dreams become within reach.CRISPR / cas9 gene editing technology is also known as "gene magic scissors". In the above research, Wanyou and Yiming team realized the projection and function specific gene editing in rat brain through CRISPR / cas9 technology, combined with anterograde / retrograde AAV vector and cell marker technology.in the most interesting one-step experiment, the researchers induced fear memory of the experiment box in two different chambers (box a and Box B).furthermore, the CBP gene was specifically knocked down in the trace cells which stored fear memory in one of the experimental boxes (a box) by combining gene editing technology with activity-dependent cell marker technology.the results showed that this operation accurately "deleted" the fear memory of box a, while the memory of Box B remained intact.Yi Ming said that the success of such research will hopefully provide new treatment ideas for chronic pain, addiction and other diseases with "pathological memory" characteristics.it really sounds very sci-fi. Movies like "eternal sunshine of a beautiful mind" and "full recall" have long taught us the idea of modifying memory, but we have never thought that we can move from film to reality one day.since the "gene editing baby" event in 2018, there has been a lot of discussion about gene editing.the breakthrough of this technology has also filled us with expectations and concerns.some people think that this is a good news for people who suffer from great trauma and depression.there are also some people who think that this is "Pandora's box", once opened, it can not be easily closed.nevertheless, gene editing is not a scientific taboo. gene editing in basic research is still a research hotspot, and has been widely used in major experiments all over the world. novel coronavirus pneumonia novel coronavirus (FDA) approved for the first time the emergency use of CRISPR based gene editing technology for new coronavirus detection, allowing it to be tested faster in public health emergencies. CRISPR gene editor Zhang Feng developed a new rapid detection strip for coronavirus based on CRISPR technology, which can greatly improve the detection efficiency, reduce the operation difficulty and detection cost. in addition, on April 28, Professor Lu u from West China Hospital of Sichuan University published a clinical experiment paper in nature medicine, which reported the first phase I clinical trial results of editing PD-1 gene on T cells of patients with non-small cell lung cancer using CRISPR / cas9 technology（ ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02793856）。 clinical trials have shown that CRISPR / cas9 gene edited T cells are generally safe and feasible for cancer treatment. gene editing technology is like a scalpel, which enables human to "Edit" the target gene and realize the deletion and addition of specific gene fragments. If human beings can fully master the technology of gene editing, they will not turn pale in the face of many diseases. at present, human understanding of gene is still very limited. 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