Tinkering with Life
What if scientists could edit DNA? As in, literally remove a strand of DNA and add a new section to it, or cut out a gene and paste a different one in its place?
Imagine what such a technology would be able to do.
Got a genetic disease? No problem: your doctor will give you a drug that removes the malfunctioning gene and replaces it with a new one. (Scientists are working hard on this one.)
Want to make camels that produce the ingredients for medicine in their milk? Scientists are already on it.
Manipulating DNA isn’t really a new trick. Scientists have been experimenting with different techniques since the 1960s. In 2012, though, a new method of editing DNA emerged. This method, called CRISPR, is quicker and less expensive than other methods. It has spread quickly and is already being used around the world for a huge variety of research projects.
Because the CRISPR system is also more accurate (and getting better all the time), it has potential for use in editing human DNA—and not just to cure genetic diseases.
Better Genes, Better People?
Two different applications for genetic editing exist. One is generally accepted as ethically OK. The other is not as widely accepted.
“In thinking about how human gene editing might be used, you have to make some really important distinctions,” says Marcy Darnovsky, Director of the Center for Genetics and Society. She is a bioethics expert, and her job is to help educate the public, as well as people who make laws, on the ethical issues surrounding human genetics.
It’s one thing to try to treat or cure people who are currently sick using gene editing, she explains. “The technical term for that is ‘somatic genetic intervention.’ You would target particular cells, particular tissues of the human body.” A more controversial approach is called “germline intervention,” which alters the DNA of a family line. That would mean making changes to human eggs, sperm, or early embryos—changes that would be passed on to future generations.
The prospect of editing DNA to truly cure people affected by genetic diseases (which are caused by a defect in one or more genes) is downright thrilling for both patients and doctors.
“Helping sick people is a very worthy goal and we would support it,” Darnovsky says. She’d want to be sure any genetic modifications are tested thoroughly to make sure they’re safe and that treatment is easily accessible to all people who need it.
Germline intervention is different from somatic intervention. Changes in the DNA of eggs, sperm, or even human embryos become a permanent part of the human germline, at least for any descendant. Some scientists believe editing the human germline could benefit humanity. Humans could be enhanced to have stronger bones, to be resistant to diseases, or even to be less smelly. Parents could create “super-kids” with high IQs and fantastic athletic ability.
Theoretically, this may someday be possible. Even if we could do it, should we “design” a human being, for any reason at all? Now that’s a complicated question.
Why All the Fuss?
Possibly the most important reason to hesitate in modifying the human germline is that no one knows for sure what the long-term effects of altering DNA will be.
What if scientists change one gene, introduce it into the germline, and find out a generation later that it somehow causes a different disease? Perhaps they’d be able to undo the change with no problem, perhaps not. Fortunately, parents concerned about passing a genetic disease along to their children already have other options that don’t involve editing the germline. Is the risk of experimenting worth it?
Until now, every human ever born was created with an element of chance. No one checked boxes to select our height, our musical abilities or other talents. If some of us were given our traits on purpose, how would our society change? Maybe genetically enhanced people would have an unfair advantage over everyone else in the job market, on the sports field, or in the dating scene.
If you were a genetically modified kid, would your parents have higher expectations of you? Would you like being an engineered kid, or would you resent that someone decided your strengths for you before you were born?
These are difficult issues that affect our entire society. It’s not just a question of individual opinions, Darnovsky says. “The question is, what are the likely social consequences of going down this road, toward a society in which some people are genetically enhanced and other people are not?”"Gene Editing and Super Kids"(excerpted and adapted)
Dankanich, Merry, "Dino Chickens and Super Kids," Muse, February 2016. © Carus Publishing Company. Reproduced with permission.
