A unique CRISPR system that destroys infected cells is unlike anything scientists have ever seen before — and it could revolutionize how we use the powerful gene editing technology in the future.CRISPR 101: While bacteria can infect humans, they can also be infected — a virus can inject its DNA in a bacterial cell and then use the cell like a virus factory, creating more and more copies of itself inside the cell until it bursts.“It’s a change in structure that’s extraordinary to observe — a phenomenon that elicits audible gasps from fellow scientists,” said Jackson.“This could lead to a really sensitive diagnostic system.” Jack Bravo That means a test using Cas12a2 could produce a signal when the protein binds to the target sequence of an RNA virus — the type that causes flu, COVID-19, the common cold, and other infections — without destroying the viral RNA that activated it.Because that RNA will still be there to activate other CRISPR proteins floating around, the signal will be boosted “This could lead to a really sensitive diagnostic system, because we’re not depleting what we’re trying to find,” said researcher Jack Bravo from the University of Texas Austin."