Just recently, a Chinese scientist claimed that he had made the world’s first genetically engineered babies, using a gene-editing technique called CRISPR. If his statement is true (he has not yet given any evidence), then the babies would probably be the first genetically engineered people. Although genetically engineering people might hold promise to a positive future where people are immune to certain diseases, there are multiple safety and ethical concerns about genetically engineered humans. So, what did he do, and what are the major concerns about this issue?
What did he do?
The scientist, whose name is He Jiankui, claims that he used Crispr, a cheap gene-editing technique which alters genes in human embryos. He claims that he has edited the CCR5 gene, which creates a substance that makes it possible for the H.I.V virus to infect people’s cells, with a goal of creating babies who would be resistant to H.I.V infections. However, Dr He has not given his data, nor who the parents of the babies were.
What are the main concerns?
First of all, this technique is illegal in many countries, including the United States. Because of this, China has halted Dr He’s research and is investigating whether or not he broke any laws there.
Secondly, people are wondering if the couples that were involved in the research were properly informed about the dangers of the research.
Thirdly, one single mistake will lead to disaster in future generations. Changing the genes in an embryo means changing genes in every cell. If the method succeeds, the baby will have changes that will be inherited by all of the child’s descendants. Scientists agree that this is a serious attempt that must be done with great consideration and only to treat a serious disease for when there are no other options. Yet, Dr He disabled the CCR5 gene to prevent H.I.V, when there are clearly other simpler and safer ways to prevent H.I.V.
Most importantly, the data that Dr He has shown at a conference shows that there is clear evidence that only a portion of the embryos actually contained the edited gene, and Crispr is known to often alter genes other than the ones that were supposed to be targeted.
Lastly, people worry that this might be a step toward using genetic engineering to create people with extreme intelligence, beauty or athletic skill. If this were to happen, the barrier between the poor and the rich would increase, and the barrier would be almost impossible to break, as rich people would be able to afford to genetically engineer their kids to be immune to diseases, be smarter, etc, which would almost ensure that their kids would grow up to become rich too. Luckily, this thought is not possible yet, as such a operation would require a huge advance in science technology.
However, until Dr He reveals his results from the experiment, scientists will not be able to know exactly if these concerns were right or wrong, or if scientists should experiment more on gene editing.
Gina Kolata, Pam Belluck, New York Times, December 5th 2018,
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/health/crispr-gene-editing-embryos.html
This article really helped me to get information about what was going on.
Creepy - thanks for writing, and Merry Christmas!