I use CRISPR regularly to edit stem cells. While there is a lot of hype around it, this blog post is unfairly harsh. In particular: >In 2006, RNAi gene silenc

I use CRISPR regularly to edit stem cells. While there is a lot of hype around it, this blog post is unfairly harsh. In particular: >In 2006, RNAi gene silencing was given the Nobel Prize. MIT called it the breakthrough of the decade. I remember everyone being so excited about it! It was the hot topic at conferences and even my graduate school interviews. While RNAi was and always has been a great benefit to researchers its actual application has been extremely limited. It’s taken 13 years from the RNAi Nobel Prize to bring something to the clinic and even then the two drugs have been a bit underwhelming. According to Google Scholar, papers even mentioning RNAi have been on the decline for the past 6 years. The drug approved in the past few years haven't even slowed the decline. The reason RNAi has fallen out of favor, at least for research purposes, is that CRISPR knockouts are much better.