Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) provides acquired immunity in microorganisms against exogenous DNA that may hinder the survival of the organism. Pioneering work by Doudna and Charpentier in 2012 resulted in the creation of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tool on the basis of this concept. The aim of this was to create a rapid, efficient, and versatile genome-editing tool to facilitate genetic manipulation. The mechanism relies on two components: the RNA guide which acts as a sentinel and a Cas protein complex which functions as a highly precise molecular knife. The guide RNA can be modified to match a DNA sequence of interest in the cell and accordingly be used to rectify mutations that may otherwise cause disease. Within a few years following the development of the CRISPR/Cas9 tool, its usage has become ubiquitous. Its influence extends into many fields of biological sciences from biotechnology and biochemistry to molecular biology and biomedical sciences. The following review aims at shedding some light on to the applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 tool in the field of biomedical sciences, particularly gene therapy. An insight with relation to a few of the many diseases that are being tackled with the aid of the CRISPR/Cas9 mechanism and the trends, successes, and challenges of this application as a gene therapy are discussed in this review.

Mangrove ecosystems across the island face many threats to their survival despite the multitude of benefits provided by them. Their superior carbon sequestration and storage capacity make them ideal for climate change mitigation. However, the conservation and management of these ecosystems are difficult mainly due to the lack of baseline information. The present study is a preliminary investigation of the diversity of mangroves and the distribution of biomass carbon across mangrove species in the Chilaw lagoon in the western coast of Sri Lanka. The study identified 12 species of mangroves belonging to six families in the Chilaw lagoon complex. Shannon's diversity index (1.90) and evenness (0.76) indicates a relatively higher diversity compared to other lagoon complexes in the island. The most abundant species identified was Bruguiera cylindrica followed by Avicennia marina and A. officinalis. Xylocarpus granatum and B. sexangula were the least abundant species identified. Biomass carbon was calculated from 357 plant stems. The above-and below-ground biomass carbon were 12.80 and 2.6 Mg C, respectively, and thus total biomass carbon content of the Chilaw lagoon was estimated to be 102.8 Mg C ha -1 . The highest contribution to biomass carbon was from B. cylindrica. A. marina too contributed significantly to the biomass carbon, despite fewer individuals encountered.

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