CRISPR — Curing Climate Change
“What’s it like being a teenager in 2020?”
It’s Tik Tok, grades and nihilism. It’s feeling disdain towards those older than us for putting us in a world that will likely start to crumble in our lifetimes. It’s the hopeless attitude that we are stuck in a reality made from the mistakes of generations before. It’s knowing the world is dying, and learning about Shakespeare in English class isn’t going to stop it.
It’s Climate Change.
Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Millennials live at a time where we are made to reap the consequences of the mistakes our ancestors have sowed. Chances are, we might be the first and last generation to do so.
Instead of sulking on our present reality, it’s time to shift to thinking of ways to stop our predicted future. It’s time for action to replace brooding.
It’s time to cure Climate Change with CRISPR.
What is Climate change?
Okay, unless you’ve been living under a literal rock you probably have some idea of what this is.
Climate change is a change in the usual weather found in a place. This could be a change in how much rain a place usually gets in a year. Or it could be a change in a place’s usual temperature for a month or season. Climate change is also a change in Earth’s climate. This could be a change in Earth’s usual temperature. Or it could be a change in where rain and snow usually fall on Earth.
Weather can change in just a few hours. Climate takes hundreds or even millions of years to change.
What is it Caused by?
Life on Earth is possible because of the warmth of the sun. While some of this incoming solar radiation bounces back into space, a small portion of it is trapped by the gases making up our atmosphere.
Without this layer of insulation, we would pretty much be living on a frozen chunk of rock. Thanks to the insulation we get from the Carbon, we don’t actually manage to be greatly impacted by this. Carbon is stored all over the planet. Whether it be in the ground, the plants, the ocean, and even ourselves.
We release it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide through activities such as burning horrible and deadly fossil fuels and cutting down trees. As a result, today’s atmosphere contains 42 percent more carbon dioxide than it did before the industrial era.
We have released so much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that our planet isn’t simply “warm” anymore, but it’s getting unpredictable. When we mess with the atmospheric balance that keeps the climate stable, we are now seeing extreme effects around the globe. Because the world was not made to handle such temperature and heat, we see more natural disasters.
Why does this matter?
Scientists think that Earth’s temperature will keep going up for the next 100 years. This would cause more snow and ice to melt. Oceans would rise higher. Some places would get hotter. Other places might have colder winters with more snow. Some places might get more rain. Other places might get less rain. Some places might have stronger hurricanes.
Climate change doesn’t affect most people living in the American average wage bracket. But, the majority of the world doesn’t fall into that wage bracket, does it? Poverty is amplified by climate change, whether it be from the increase in natural disasters to droughts for farmers, the consequences for the majority of the world are horrible.
How can CRISPR help this?
Let’s talk DNA, just to preface.
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid if you’re a nerd, are the small strands of biological material that make you, you. It is typically found in the cell nucleus or even the mitochondria. You can think of it as a code to your body, as it explains everything about you. As a result, the language used to code this information is written out in your DNA. This is stored in four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine ©, and thymine (T). A pairs with G, and C pairs with T.
Gene-editing is just using a method to alter DNA.
CRISPR is a gene-editing tool that allows us to cut sections of DNA to allow for implementations of new sections. It allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function.
CRISPRs are specialized stretches of DNA. The protein Cas9 is an enzyme that acts like a pair of scissors and can be used to cut strands of DNA.
CRISPR technology was adapted from the natural defense mechanisms of bacteria. These organisms use CRISPR-derived RNA and various Cas proteins, including Cas9, to foil attacks by viruses and other foreign bodies. They do so primarily by chopping up and destroying the DNA of a foreign invader. When these components are transferred into other, more complex, organisms, it allows for the manipulation of genes, or “editing.”
The genomes of various organisms encode a series of messages and instructions within their DNA sequences. Genome editing involves changing those sequences, thereby changing the messages. This can be done by inserting a cut or break in the DNA and tricking a cell’s natural DNA repair mechanisms into introducing the changes one wants. CRISPR-Cas9 provides a means to do so.
When you give way for CRISPR to cut and edit parts of DNA, you can also replace these segments with the ideal segment of DNA, reshaping the organism.
This technology has crazy potential and can help us change the biology of living things to our will.
So why did I propose CRISPR as a means to solve Climate Change? It’s not like we can genetically engineer carbon or anything.
See, although carbon is our main enemy here, we can look for organisms that consume carbon already, and modify them to intake more. In this case, modify plants to absorb more CO2. We practically just use CRISPR to target the segment of genetic code responsible for carbon intake and processing. Their roots then transfer it to the soil to keep it there.
What will these modified plants look like?
Modified plants will look and act very similarly to the non-modified ones. The main difference between them will be the functionality of both. When normal plants die, they release large amounts of CO2 back into the air. This is bad for the environment. When modifying these new plants, we will see significantly less CO2 being released since it’s being stored in deeper roots and soil for longer periods, which holds the ability to resist short-term decomposition.
Not only that, but we will be able to absorb carbon dioxide at a faster rate, meaning that we have less carbon dioxide in the air. This takes away from the dangerous effects of pollution and smog on big cities and will help reduce Climate Change’s implications on humanity.
Closing Remarks
Overall, we can be greatly impacted by discoveries in the world of science. Using CRISPR to help combat the issue of Climate Change is no easy feat, but if accomplished, we can secure a more safe future for ourselves and our children.
To end off, I think that as Millenials, we need to learn to take action against things we are going to be impacted against before it’s too late.
This way, we can say a huge “ok boomer” to climate change.
Takeaways:
→ Climate Change is a big and important problem that must be tackled asap
→ It’s mainly caused by the excess of Carbon in our atmosphere and world as a byproduct of fossil fuel usage
→ Using Gene-editing technology, CRISPR, we can modify plants to absorb and hold onto more carbon dioxide, lowering the prevalence of it
If you liked this, make sure to follow me up on LinkedIn/twitter @tairamehta!
