Friday, October 13, 2017

U.S edits Embryo DNA for first time

 
In vitro fertilization, computer artwork. (Getty Images)





     Without a doubt, I found this article very interesting. Scientist have successfully edited embryos so that they could grow and develop if placed into a mother's womb. This is the first time this is happening in the U.S. The gene altering technology is referred to as CRISPR. By injecting CRISPR into the embryo about the same time that is it getting fertilized by the sperm it reduces the risk of "off target editing"(Newman). This is extremely valuable in the world of medicine. It will help correct genes that are dangerous to future generations. They could also eventually alter inherited diseases to help those. Although these are all positive factors, I do believe this technology should be evaluated to fit culture appropriation.
    Personally, I think its great to see technology improving, specifically in genetics. When thinking of this article the idea of "Designer babies" popped in my head. People may want to pay to have their embryos genes altered making the baby ideal phenotypically. Many will argue that this is morally wrong and should only be used for medical needs.  I think it may become a main focus causing a nationwide debate when the technology improves more.

Article: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-07-27/scientists-edit-the-dna-of-embryos-for-first-time-in-united-states

5 comments:

  1. I think the technology involved is really cool but I don't believe that it is beneficial to our ability to adapt to a changing environment. Without knowing it, we might be unintentionally leading our species to extinction in the future if we play a role in the disappearance of certain alleles.

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  2. CRISPR is one of the most interesting and alarming technology I ever known of. I agree with the term "Designer babies" in your article. Since CRISPR is such a powerful technology that it can change one's DNA. Even though CRISPR is design to help with the genetic disorders and medical research, it can also be use in an unethical way and for personal benefit.

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  3. I feel that technology like this will someday become dangerous and terrible. My guess is that someday we will possess the technology to "Build-a-Baby" and that parents will genetically design their perfect offspring, rather than let nature do the work. Personally I feel that tech like this is great for the control of terrible diseases and conditions, but where do we draw the line?

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  4. Science is so awesome, it's constantly blowing my mind. I think this embryo gene editing is such an impressive thing for the future of science. It can be extremely useful to people that need genetic alterations to avoid a dangerous inheritance for their offspring. However, I do agree with some of the previous comments. What do we do when we go too far? When will we know when enough is enough? I'm sure there will be someone out there that will abuse this technology and ruin it for those that really do need the modifications. I think this topic would be a great discussion in class.

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  5. I have seen so many different articles about CRISPR, and this shows how diverse its uses are! The information in this article is intriguing because not only is this a medical marvel, but it also poses many potential ethical issues. I think the main use of CRISPR should be to edit deleterious genes out of the population, but it depends on people's definitions of "deleterious genes." I agree with you when you said a designer baby phenomenon may be a future ethical issue of CRISPR.

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