The document discusses the history and development of CRISPR-Cas9 as a genome editing tool. It describes how CRISPR was first discovered in bacteria in 1987 and how the Cas9 enzyme and guide RNAs were later characterized. It explains that CRISPR-Cas9 utilizes a naturally occurring bacterial immune system to induce targeted double-strand breaks in DNA directed by a programmable guide RNA. The document then discusses how CRISPR-Cas9 has been adapted from prokaryotes for use in eukaryotic genome editing and cancer research, as well as future directions for this technology.