Rings of DNA inside bacteria use CRISPR process to attack each other.
The CRISPR-Cas system is a highly accurate gene-editing tool that genetic engineers have adopted from bacteria. The engineers use it to create genetically modified organisms and even treat genetic disease. But humans are not the first to adapt this system for their own ends — inside bacteria, CRISPR has been co-opted into the ongoing fight between free-floating rings of DNA within a bacteria’s cell, called plasmids. Read more in Inside Science.