Imagine a world where you are able to alter the life of your unborn child for as little as $160. Would you do it? Most parents would. Many think that this question won’t be posed for hundreds of years, but in reality, this modification already occurs and only stands to grow within the coming decades. Until recently gene editing was extremely expensive, complicated, and took a long time to do. This has changed with the revolutionary new technology of CRISPR. Overnight, the costs of engineering have shrunk by 99%. Instead of a year, it takes a few weeks to conduct experiments, and anybody with a lab can do it. Why did this sudden revolution happen and how does it work?
In simplest terms, a virus is implanted into a cell. This virus copies a string of DNA, and then uses that copy to easily destroy cells of that same genetic code. What’s special is that CRISPR-cas9, this simple copying system, is very precise and programmable. You can give it a copy of DNA you want to modify and put the system into a living cell to change it. CRISPR works in every type of cell. But despite the revolution that it is for science, it’s still just a first generation tool. More precise tools are already being created and used as we speak. In 2015, scientists use CRISPR to cut the HIV virus out of living cells from patients in the lab, proving that it was possible. In a few decades, a CRISPR therapy might cure HIV and other viruses that hide inside human DNA. CRISPR could also defeat one of our worst enemies—cancer. CRISPR gives us the means to edit immune cells and make them better cancer hunters. Curing cancer may eventually involve getting a couple injections of a few thousand of your own cells that have been engineered in the lab to heal you for good. The first clinical trial for a CRISPR cancer treatment on human patients was approved in early 2016 in the US.
Over 3,000 genetic diseases are caused by a single incorrect letter in your DNA, and science is already building a modified version of CAS9 that is made to change just a single letter, fixing the disease in the cell. In a decade or two, we could possibly cure thousands of other diseases forever. But all of these medical applications have one thing in common: they modify somatic cells, blood and basic tissues, which are limited to the individual and die with them. This changes when we start using CRISPR on Germline cells, those cells that change a new generation such as embryonic cells. CRISPR can and probably will be used for much more, the creation of modified humans, or designer babies.
The means to edit the genome of a human embryo already exists in its early stages. In 2015 and 2016, Chinese scientists experimented with human embryos and were partially successful on their second attempt. Genetic engineering will affect you. Modified humans could alter the genome of our entire species, because their engineered traits will be passed on to their children and could spread over generations, slowly modifying the whole gene pool of humanity. It will start slowly. The first designer babies will not be overly designed. It’s most likely that they will be created to eliminate a deadly genetic disease.
As the technology progresses and gets more refined, more and more people may argue that not using genetic modification is unethical, because it condemns children to preventable suffering and death and denies them the cure. But as soon as the first engineered kid is born, a door is opened that can’t be closed anymore. Early on, vanity traits will mostly be left alone. But as genetic modification becomes more accepted and our knowledge of our genetic code enhances, the temptation will grow. If you make your offspring immune to Alzheimer, why not also give them an enhanced metabolism? Why not throw in perfect eyesight? How about height or muscular structure? Full hair? How about giving your child the gift of intelligence?
Huge changes are made as a result of the personal decisions of millions of individuals that accumulate. This is a slippery slope. Modified humans could become the new standard. Humanity might become immune to many of the diseases that haunt us today. Still, a few major challenges await us: some technological, some ethical.
Many people will feel uncomfortable and fear that we will create a world in which we will reject non-perfect humans and pre-select features and qualities based on our idea of what’s healthy. The thing is we are already living in this world. Tests for dozens of genetic diseases or complications have become standard for pregnant women in much of the world. Often the mere suspicion of a genetic defect can lead to the end of a pregnancy. Take Down syndrome for example, one of the most common genetic defects. In Iceland, almost 100% of all pregnancies where it’s detected are terminated. The decision to terminate pregnancy is incredibly personal, but it’s important to acknowledge the reality that we are pre-selecting humans based on medical conditions. There is also no use in pretending this will change, so we have to act carefully and respectfully as we advance the technology and can make more and more selections.
Luckily, none of this will happen soon. As powerful as CRISPR is—and it is, it’s not infallible yet. A gene edit might achieve the desired result, treating a disease, but also might accidentally trigger unwanted changes. We just don’t know enough yet about the complex interplay of our genes to avoid unpredictable consequences. Working on accuracy and monitoring methods is a major concern as the first human trials begin. Banning human genetic engineering would only lead to the science being done in somebody’s basement without proper precautions. Only by actively participating can we make sure that further research is guided by caution, reason, oversight, and transparency.
Most of us have something “wrong” with them, so this technology is certainly scary, but we have a lot to gain, and genetic engineering might just be a step in the natural evolution of intelligent species in the universe. We might end disease or extend our life expectancy or create humans that could survive on Mars. There’s no reason to think small when it comes to this topic. Whatever your opinion on genetic engineering, the future is approaching no matter what. What has been insane science fiction is about to become our new reality, a reality full of opportunities and challenges, and we need to address it head-on before it becomes a major issue.
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