CRISPR

Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (abbreviated as CRISPR, pronounced crisper) are segments of prokaryotic DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences. Each repetition is followed by short segments of "spacer DNA" from previous exposures to a bacterial virus or plasmid.

The CRISPR/Cas system is a prokaryotic immune system that confers resistance to foreign genetic elements such as plasmids and phages, and provides a form of acquired immunity. CRISPR spacers recognize and cut these exogenous genetic elements in a manner analogous to RNA interference in eukaryotic organisms. CRISPRs are found in approximately 40% of sequenced bacteria genomes and 90% of sequenced archaea.

The CRISPR interference technique has enormous potential application, including altering the germline of humans, animals and other organisms, and modifying the genes of food crops. By delivering the Cas9 protein and appropriate guide RNAs into a cell, the organism's genome can be cut at any desired location. CRISPRs have been used in concert with specific endonuclease enzymes for genome editing and gene regulation in species throughout the tree of life. Ethical concerns have been expressed about this nascent biotechnology and the prospect of editing the human germline.

Gene drive

Gene drive is the practice of "stimulating biased inheritance of particular genes to alter entire populations." It has been proposed as a technique for changing wild populations of harmful organisms such as mosquitoes to be less dangerous. In addition to combating diseases spread by insects, gene drives might be used to control invasive species or to eliminate herbicide- or pesticide resistance. Possible alterations include adding, disrupting, or modifying genes, including some that reduce reproductive capacity and may cause a population crash. Synthetic gene drives based on homing endonucleases were first proposed in 2003.

History

Austin Burt, an evolutionary geneticist at Imperial College London, first outlined the possibility of building gene drives based on natural "selfish" homing endonuclease genes. Researchers had already shown that these “selfish” genes could spread rapidly through successive generations. Burt suggested that gene drives might be used to prevent a mosquito population from transmitting the malaria parasite or crash a mosquito population. Gene drives based on homing endonucleases have been demonstrated in the laboratory in transgenic populations of mosquitoes and fruit flies. These enzymes could be used to drive alterations through wild populations.

Cas

Cas may mean:

Casper

Casper (occasionally styled Kasper) is a personal name derived from Chaldean that means means "Treasurer". The origins of the name have been traced as far back as the Old Testament and variations of the name have been adopted by a variety of cultures and languages.

Origins

The name is derived from Gaspar which in turn is from an ancient Chaldean word, "Gizbar", which according to Strong's Concordance means "Treasurer". The word "Gizbar" appears in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament Book of Ezra (1:8). In fact, the modern Hebrew word for "Treasurer" is still "Gizbar". By the 1st century B.C. the Septuagint gave a Greek translation of "Gizbar" in Ezra 1:8 as "Gasbarinou". There are numerous modern variations such as Gaspar (Spanish and Portuguese), Gaspare (Italian), Gaspard (French), Kaspar (German, Persian, Dutch), Kašpar (Czech), Casper (English), Kacper (Polish), Kasperi (Finnish), Kasper (Danish), Gáspár (Hungarian),and Kaspars (Latvian).

By the 6th century, the name Gaspar was recorded in mosaic at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy as one of the traditional names assigned by folklore to the anonymous Magi mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew account of the Nativity of Jesus. The letter "G" in the name Gaspar was clearly different from the letter "C" used elsewhere, suggesting that the name Gaspar preceded the name Caspar, and not the other way around as some have supposed.

List of minor characters in the Matrix series

Many of the characters listed here have names reflecting certain aspects of them, such as their status, personality or role.

Apoc

Apoc (played by Julian Arahanga) is a crew member of the Nebuchadnezzar in The Matrix.

Apoc drives Neo to his meeting with Morpheus, and assists Tank in locating Neo inside the Power Plant. He and Switch are portrayed as front-line soldiers while inside the Matrix, acting as "point" and "rear guard" in their escape from the Agents and police and laying down covering fire as they make their way into the sewers. Cypher murders Apoc by pulling his jack out of his head while Apoc is connected to the Matrix. In The Matrix Reloaded, Arahanga can be seen in one of the first establishing shots of Zion, as a machine operator who flashes quickly by the camera.

Captain Ballard

Captain Ballard (played by Roy Jones Jr.), was the captain of the Zion hovercraft Caduceus in the film The Matrix Reloaded and the video game Enter the Matrix. During the Captain's meeting in Reloaded, Ballard volunteers to stay behind during the massive recall of all hovercrafts to Zion in order to await a message from The Oracle. As Ballard stayed behind, he was eventually contacted and challenged to a fight by Seraph. Shortly after the fight, Ballard met with the Oracle to retrieve her message. The crew of the Caduceus eventually made it back to Zion and gave the message to Neo.