Month: August 2016

Cancer Stem Cells: A Step Closer to the Cure

The discovery of cancer stems cells (CSCs) may have revolutionized the field of cancer research in a manner similar to how the “germ theory of disease” altered the way medical science looked maladies in general.  Before the germ theory, disease and sicknesses were attributed to be manifestations of bad omens and evil spirits. The discovery of

Genome Editing: Future Potential and Ethical Concerns

Scientists around the word are debating the scientific and ethical possibilities of using powerful gene editing tools, such as the CRISPR/Cas9 system, to treat heritable diseases in human embryos. In 1987, the discovery of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) genes in single celled prokaryotic systems revolutionized genetic engineering. Initially thought to be