Hacking DNA with CRISPR

Let's make some bacteria and their progeny resistant to an antibiotic and then teach people for free how to do that themselves. DC CRISPR Initiative is our effort to learn about, perform, and teach CRISPR genetic editing at HacDC.

POCs: Enrique Cobas and Nancy C. Wolfson.

To get specific we have non-pathogenic E. Coli, petri dishes to grow them in and petri dishes laced with the antibiotic streptomycin which kill them. But we also have the gene they need to withstand streptomycin, the right Cas9 protein and all the other ingredients to add this gene to their DNA using the CRISPR-Cas9 mechanism.

We'll have a two-hour incubation period in which to watch some educational videos about CRISPR, learn the history of its discovery and invention. We'll also rant and rave about the societal benefits and dangers of cheap, easy genetic editing literally as we're doing it.

We'll also discuss our plans for the CRISPR project at HacDC, especially the whole-day educational workshop we'll host once all the bugs are worked out. If you're excited about gene editing and maybe interested in turning around and teaching people about it, come join us. Particularly if you have a background in biology, since we don't. This should be fun.