Two articles published in the journal “Cell” describe two different researches that are connected to one of the DNA modification systems known as CRISPR and especially the one known as CRISPR-Cas3. A team of scientists from Harvard Medical School and Cornell University generated an almost atomic-level snapshot of CRISPR revealing key steps in its operating mechanism. A team of scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and Cornell University took an important step towards the safety of medical applications of the CRISPR systems.