What it means: CRISPR is a gene-editing tool that acts like molecular "scissors". It can find a specific DNA sequence and cut it, allowing researchers to delete, replace, or modify genes with extreme precision.
The name stands for "Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats", the natural bacterial defense system that was adapted for gene editing.
CRISPR vs base editing: Traditional CRISPR cuts both strands of DNA (like scissors), which can cause errors when the cell repairs the cut. Base editing (used in the December 2023 MEF2C study) is more precise. It changes a single DNA letter without cutting the DNA at all.
Think of CRISPR as editing a word by deleting it and retyping it, while base editing is like using a highlighter and correction tape on a single letter.