A virologist uses CRISPR to edit viral genomes, achieving a 70% success rate per trial. She performs 5 independent trials. What is the probability that exactly 3 trials succeed?

Fri, 01 May 2026 05:59:05 +0000

**A virologist uses CRISPR to edit viral genomes, achieving a 70% success rate per trial. She performs 5 independent trials. What is the probability that exactly 3 trials succeed?** In an era where precise genome editing shapes modern medicine, one breakthrough has sparked growing attention: a virologist successfully applies CRISPR technology to edit viral genomes with a 70% success rate per experiment. Conducting five independent trials, she asks: what’s the likelihood that exactly three of them succeed? This question isn’t just academic—it reflects real progress in gene editing, with implications for antiviral therapies and disease modeling. With CRISPR proving more reliable and efficient, the focus is shifting to how outcomes like “three successes in five trials” fit into broader scientific calculations—and why this matters for future innovations. Understanding CRISPR-based viral editing involves more than raw percentages. Each trial represents a carefully controlled step in modifying viral DNA using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) guided to edit specific sequences. Achieving a 70% success rate per trial means a relatively high confidence level, yet the outcome across multiple rounds isn’t guaranteed. Instead of simplistic odds, the probability follows a well-defined statistical model—specifically, the binomial distribution—where the possibility of winning “exactly three out of five” emerges from chance, consistency, and repeatable experimentation. How does this translate numerically? By calculating the binomial probability for five independent trials with a 0.7 success rate per trial, the chance of exactly three successes is approximately 58.3%. This number reflects not a superstition but a predictable outcome grounded in probability theory—intriguing both researchers and those tracking scientific breakthroughs in the US and beyond.