CRISPR technology has already demonstrated its potential to revolutionize modern biology. Summarized, CRISPR is a gene editing technology. It has the ability to change the sequence of DNA in living cells, therefore changing their traits. However, the applications of CRISPR extend far beyond simple fun with gene editing. CRISPR can be used to modify the foods we eat, making them easier to grow and more resistant to harsh climate. CRISPR has even been theorized to have implications for treating human genetic diseases. However, how far does this technology go?

Dino Park

A group of scientests have been focusing on a much more radical side of CRISPR: they are attempting the revival of an extinct species. The Christmas Island Rat went extinct over 100 years ago in 1903. Thankfully, some DNA of the rat has been maintained, allowing scientists to sequence the genome. Through analysis, they have found that the Christmas island rat is very closely related to the brown rat. In fact, the genomes have a 95% similarity between them. This similarity begs the question, can we CRISPR a Brown Rat into a Christmas Island Rat?

Because of the highly similar genomes, scientists believe that they can use the gene editing technology in CRISPR to recreate the Christmas Island Rats from the brown rat. While they have not yet achieved their goals, they are confident in their ability to produce results. Although modifying a rat to bring back a close relative is a long way off from bringing back dinosaurs from nothing, this amazing experiment may pave the way for future scientists to make the movies real life. As science progresses, we may be able to transform more complex and distantly related species, we will just need to wait and see.

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