A world without diseases would be music to the ears for every sick and healthy person alive. It seems impossible to achieve but the latest developments in genome editing give us a glimmer of hope. Especially the developments in CRISPR technology show that diseases such as HIV, AIDS and cancer could be prevented in the future.
Scientists have been searching for an easy way to correct changes that occur in the DNA of cancer patients. Over the past few years, different methods of genome editing have been developed. However, no technology was quick, cheap and easy enough to take genome editing to the next phase (NCI, 2020).
The game changed with the introduction of CRISPR. CRISPR technology has the ability to recognize, delete and repair muted DNA (Shwartz, 2018). The technology combines a protein called Cas9 with the engineered CRISPR sequences. This conjunction searches for codes and slices them into a molecular scalpel. The scalpel allows geneticists to remove and replace a target gene with a new sequence (Sciencealert, n.d.). Nowadays, CRISPR is becoming a mainstream methodology which makes its way out of the lab to enter the market with the goal to cure cancer patients (NCI, 2020).
Many scientists argue that most of the disorders in genes could be prevented by scanning embryos for harmful mutations. This would mean that children are born without abnormalities in their genes (Le Page, 2018). However, repairing human embryos to prevent diseases could be seen as controversial. One of the biggest concern is the removal of a wrong gene which could lead to an enormous effect on newborns (Shwartz, 2018). Furthermore, people fear the idea of giving children “superpowers”. On the other hand, scientists discuss that creating designer babies is not something that will happen soon (Shwartz, 2018).
The CRISPR technology offers a lot of benefits, such as the fact that is completely customizable, it is faster than older methods and it is easy to scale up. CRISPR is easy to use and most importantly, significantly cheaper than previous technologies (NCI, 2020).
However, CRISPR is not perfect and also has its limitations, namely it sometimes cuts not targeted DNA. These edits in healthy DNA could be vital and the cells could turn into cancer cells. Moreover, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the effect on the immune systems and how it will react to CRISPR (NCI, 2020).
Despite the limitations and controversies, the CRISPR technology remains a powerful tool for genome editing and the promises that it offers keep scientists focused on the future (Sciencealert, n.d.; Shwartz, 2018). A disease free world would maybe not be a strange idea in the foreseeable future.
Bibliography
Le Page, M. 2018. “Genetic disorders should be the focus of CRISPR gene editing trials”. New Scientist. [Online] Available at https://www.newscientist.com/article/0-genetic-disorders-should-be-the-focus-of-crispr-gene-editing-trials/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2020].
NCI. 2020. “How CRISPR Is Changing Cancer Research and Treatment”. National Cancer Institute. [Online] Available at https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/crispr-cancer-researchtreatment#:~:text=CRISPR%20is%20a%20highly%20precise,changing%20cancer%20research%20and%20treatment.&text=Ever%20since%20scientists%20realized%20that,those%20changes%20by%20manipulating%20DNA [Accessed 5 Oct. 2020].
Sciencealert. N.d. What is CRISPR Gene Editing? [Online] Available at https://www.sciencealert.com/crispr-gene-editing [Accessed 5 Oct. 2020].
Shwartz, M. (2018). “Target, delete, repair”. Stanford Medicine. [Online] Available at https://stanmed.stanford.edu/2018winter/CRISPR-for-gene-editing-is-revolutionary-but-it-comes-with-risks.html [Accessed 5 Oct. 2020].
Hi Rachida,
Thank you for the interesting article on CRISPR technology. I have been following the developments on CRISPR for a while now and I do agree with several points that you have made. The concern regarding the potential risks involved when editing the genomes of an unborn is valid if we consider the current phase of the CRISPR technology. However, I do believe that the CRISPR technology can advance to a certain point in which it could be applied on a daily basis with minimum concern for the potential health risks of an unborn. I can only assume that regulatory bodies would take a firm stance in regulating the use of such technologies since it tampers with human lives and an incorrect mutation could potentially be even harmful for the entire society. Considering the ethical and technical aspects of this technology, it does put a brake on the development progress. Alternatively, I do agree that it will take years before we can see a glimpse of its practical use in real life. I just hope that people will not create designer babies for selfish purposes like dressing up a doll or their pet. CRISPR technology should be used alleviate the suffering of an unborn with abnormalities and save lives.
Greetings,
Kawah
Great job Rachida for this very interesting blog!
I believe that you have accurately captured the huge ethical dilemma that many genetic engineers, regulators and citizens are facing at the moment. CRISPR appears to show incredible potential (especially once the technology becomes safer), however, this innovation might be used in unethical or harmful ways if not reliably regulated on a global level.
Unfortunately, the question is not as black and white as it might appear. Many people agree that genetic engineering should be used to cure cancer or AIDS, and many people agree that genetic engineering should not be used to modify non-disease related traits (such as height, personality, or projected IQ) in embryos. However, what about everything that lays in the middle? What about dwarfism, or propensity to obesity?
I think that these technologies represent one of the greatest opportunities for improving the well-being of humankind in the next decades. I do not believe that we will be able to cease this genetic revolution, however, it is our duty to influence, hopefully for the better, how this transition plays out.
Hi Rachida!
I’m extremely intrigued by this topic! Netflix documentaries such as human nature and unnatural selection provide such interesting insights on this topic, and the potential revolution it can have on the human genome.
A very interesting development with the specific treatment of cancer and CRISPR is the idea of largely extending the human lifespan. Considering cancer is the wrongful continuing multiplication at the end of the cells life, curing this through CRISPR would entail that we have a better understanding of how the aging of cells work. I always find it fascinating to think about the CRISPR applications that look to slow down, halt or even reverse the process of aging, could you imagine the average human lifespan doubling, while keeping a youthful appearance? Indeed, some animals already have genetic code that could help with this such as jellyfish.
It is going to be interesting to see how CRISPR keeps evolving to cure diseases such as cancer or AIDS and how it is going to look at the underlying cause of it, our actual aging process. Interesting to consider as well is to what extent people want to live longer, most probably not everyone want to reach an age of 500, as one could run out of activities and passions to follow.