Friday, April 24, 2015

China Genetically Alters Genes of Embryos Causing Ethically Concern




Chinese scientists report that they have conducted experimentation that was dreaded by the scientific community. They have attempted to alter the DNA of embryos and the experimentation has failed in the exact manner that gave rise to original concerns. The New York Times reports on this failed experiment, emphasizing the ethical concerns involved in genetic modifications like this.


The scientists used defective human embryos hoping to produce an embryo with a precisely altered gene in every cell with no other DNA damage. All 85 human embryos failed mostly with death or no successful alteration. Of the four embryos with successful alterations there were other complications. A significant concern is that this may be a baseline for more research, since four almost worked. The other concern is that once these genetic alterations are made, they are permanent and will be passed onto later progeny.


A few months back there was another related article in regards to heritable diseases. The method discussed in both articles was known as Crispr/Cas9, which studies how the system  bacteria use to protect themselves from viruses and allows researchers to cut out selected genes and insert new ones. More and more laboratories are using this methodology and it is alarming to see the race for man to play God regardless of the potential concerns.


In my opinion, this is a very scary place for us to be scientifically, while we could be on the brink of making huge advancements in preventing genetic problems we could also be on the brink of ultimate genetic disaster.





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