Dr.Feng Zhang, the award-winning biochemist best known for his central role in developing optogenetics and CRISPR technology, joins ARK analyst Ali Urman on this week’s episode. Listeners will learn about the role of optogenetics in dissecting circuitries in the brain and Feng’s experience of CRISPR. Feng shares some of the biggest hurdles optogenetics has to overcome and tells us where RNA editing could be even more effective than DNA editing. He gives us his predictions on the cost of this kind of technology and medicine, and how it is developing to cover even more genes. We touch on the repertoire of different enzymes, explore diagnostics, and talk about the role of prime editing. You will hear why Feng considers the present to be a golden age for biological research, come to understand his long-term vision for CRISPR’s impact on the world, and much more!

• Feng’s definition of optogenetics: a way to be able to dissect circuitries in the brain.