In our “Research, Interpret, & Inform” series, students choose an interesting (and often controversial) topic to explore. We encourage students to have strong opinions while considering arguments from many different angles.
More often than not, many aspects of science fiction seem much farther away than they really are, and one important technology we might consider sci-fi is the ability to edit someone’s genes to enhance them or to remove genetic diseases from the gene pool. However, this isn’t as far-fetched as other sci-fi conventions like intergalactic empires and laser guns. Gene editing actually has come a long way. It started long ago with the beginning of selective breeding, which allowed us to domesticate animals and crops with the traits we prefer or need.
Now, however, it has evolved into scientists discovering and making use of a protein called CRISPR-Cas9, which edits the genes of human DNA, and can do this in a variety of ways and places. Mastery of the use of this protein would allow us to basically create designer babies, or genetic disease-free humans with immaculate DNA engineered by scientists with traits that didn’t have to be passed down from their parents. However, this technology is not completely developed yet, and could cause ethical problems and pose many risks in the event of a genetic mistake. When fully developed, gene editing will surpass unethical ideas and possible genetic mutations, and has the potential to eradicate many terrible genetic diseases as well as create a more desirable human population.
Gene editing is currently being used to research and find a cure for genetic diseases, which are diseases that are passed down through generations through a person’s DNA. Many people are affected by genetic diseases worldwide every year, and these diseases have a wide range of effects. Some of them are minor diseases or simply just inconveniences, like color blindness, and others are much more serious, such as Huntington’s Disease. Some of these diseases cause people lots of suffering or even death, and none of them have a definite cure. However, gene editing can change all that. Since these diseases are caused by malfunctions in DNA, all we have to do is correct that DNA. According to Labiotech.eu, “The trial tested this approach in 12 patients with non-small cell lung cancer at the West China Hospital, and the results released last year have suggested that the treatment is safe. However, the study revealed some limitations of the technology, including variable efficiency in the gene-editing process.” Treatment for cancer using gene therapy is already underway, although still underdeveloped. This shows us the great possibility for the widespread use of gene editing in the future, which would be much safer and more efficient than it is today.
In Meenakshi Prabhune’s study of the CRISPR technology, she states, “Sickle cell disease affects millions of people worldwide. Currently, there is no cure for the disease and the best treatment options are blood transfusions and, in the most severe cases, bone marrow transplants. Recently, gene therapy using CRISPR has shown tremendous potential for treating this disease.” Not only does gene editing technology claim to help fight the monstrous crime to humanity that is cancer, but it can help solve all kinds of other genetic diseases, too, like Sickle Cell Anemia, a disease where red blood cells appear in abnormal and harmful sickle shapes. The Department of Health of Western Australia says that about 60% of people worldwide are born with a genetic disease. The majority of people in the world have an identified genetic disease that can range from hindering their lives a bit to causing them to suffer for long periods of time before death via their own DNA.
Since gene editing is a promising campaign to put an end to countless kinds of genetic diseases known to science, this will likely help a lot of people get over their conditions, which would be very helpful to society. Cancer and other genetic diseases have been the bane of humans since the dawn of man. Although not all of them are fatal, many of them are more than just an annoyance, and none of them can be properly cured. However, the rise of gene editing technology promises to change all that. With the power of gene editing tools like retroviruses and CRISPR Cas9, we can erase genetic diseases from the human gene pool forever.
Gene-editing is, however, widely frowned upon for the ethics of its practices, especially when concerned with human beings. The main moral problem with genetically modified humans is that in the most effective methods of creating customized humans, they must be modified in their early stages of growth, which means that they cannot have a say in whether they are modified or not. Science Magazine states that Chinese scientist He Jiankui successfully created two genetically-modified twins, and then was arrested for it. “The court ruled that the three defendants had deliberately violated national regulations on biomedical research and medical ethics, and rashly applied gene-editing technology to human reproductive medicine.” This shows a direct result of the fear everyone has about the possibility of creating designer babies, and the moral problems most people have about it.
According to a study conducted by the Harvard Gazette, “random mutations often cause serious problems, and people are born with serious defects. In addition, we have been manipulating our environment in so many ways and exposing ourselves to a lot of chemicals that cause unknown changes to our genome.” With the gene editing technology we currently have, mutations are even more likely than they are in children that don’t have edited genes. These mutations could cause any number of problems that might make the lives of the children miserable, and we have no way to track and prevent those problems.
However, in the future, gene editing technology will be improved to even make those kinds of mutations impossible or close to impossible to occur, and could even wipe out mutational genetic diseases out of the pool. Although none of this is possible at the moment, with time and research, it can be. The National Human Genome Research institute states, “until germline genome editing is deemed safe through research, it should not be used for clinical reproductive purposes; the risk cannot be justified by the potential benefit.” Also, according to the Cambridge University Press, “Some note the hypothetical future use of germline modification, likely expensive and only accessible to the wealthy, could produce a class of economically and socially advantaged people.” Again, gene editing is not yet developed enough for widespread use on patients.
Potential problems could rise in gene editing that we do not have the technology to solve yet. This will not, however, be a problem when germline gene editing is improved to eliminate all the many risks included with it. If we were to use this gene editing on an unborn child, and the child turned out with mental or physical deformities, it would be the doctors’ fault rather than nature’s. This case seems extreme, but it actually is more probable than one might imagine. As such, the technology for gene editing on human embryos needs to be further developed before our usage. Germline gene editing, or gene editing of an embryo in its earliest stages, is considered unethical by many because of the risks and because the humans in question themselves don’t have a choice in the editing of their own genes. These ethical problems may not disappear, however, as gene editing improves over time. An essential aspect in moving forward with gene editing is figuring out how to regulate manipulation on a level that fits with our notions of human morality and justice.
Even with all the problems posed with human genome editing, the U.S. government has donated almost 200 million dollars to the cause. Despite the ethical arguments swarming around gene editing and all the risks that loom over it, with time, gene editing will improve enough to enhance humanity, eradicate dangerous genetic diseases, and furthermore, its safety will improve to the point that moral issues are not a problem. For the sake of humanity and the billions of people affected by genetic diseases, whether they are simply an annoyance or a sentence to a painful death, gene editing should be allowed to continue its research for a safer and more secure society.
H. Blank, Robert. “Politics and genetic Engineering.” Cambridge University Press, BioEngineering.pdf. Accessed February 1992.
Rodriguez Fernandez, Clara. “Eight Diseases CRISPR Technology Could Cure” Labiotech, https://www.labiotech.eu/best-biotech/crispr-technology-cure-disease/. Accessed 13 April 2021.
Tippett Simpson, Hannah. “USA announces $190 million for genome editing research” Bionews, https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_96336. Accessed 29 January 2018.
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