Nicholson, S.A.Pepper, Michael Sean2016-10-242016-10-242016-09Nicholson, SA & Pepper, MS 2016, 'CRISPR-Cas : revolutionising genome engineering', South African Medical Journal, vol. 106, no. 9, pp. 870-871.0256-9574 (print)2078-5135 (online)10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i9.11061http://hdl.handle.net/2263/57422The ability to permanently alter or repair the human genome has been the subject of a number of science fiction films, but with the recent advent of several customisable sequence-specific endonuclease technologies, genome engineering looks set to become a clinical reality in the near future. This article discusses recent advancements in the technology called ‘clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated genes’ (CRISPR-Cas), the potential of CRISPR-Cas to revolutionise molecular medicine, and the ethical and regulatory hurdles facing its application.en© 2016 Health & Medical Publishing Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Works License (CC BY-NC 3.0).CRISPR-CasHuman genomeScience fiction filmsEngineeringArticle