The ground-breaking yet controversial world of gene-editing has recently become a focal point of discussion in scientific circles worldwide. A Chinese researcher, He Jiankui, has shaken up the community by claiming to have orchestrated the birth of the world’s first gene-edited babies. He suggests he achieved this feat using CRISPR, a revolutionary gene-editing technology. This article aims to delve into the nuances of gene-editing, elucidate on what CRISPR is, and discuss its potential applications and implications.
Understanding Genes and their Role
Genes are essentially segments of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) that contain crucial biological information, which shapes an individual’s traits and characteristics. Attributes such as height, skin colour, intelligence, susceptibility to certain diseases and even patterns of behaviour can be traced back to genes. The ability to modify these genetic codes opens up the intriguing possibility of controlling some of these human features.
Deciphering Gene Editing
Often known as genetic modification, manipulation or engineering, gene editing refers to a set of technologies that enable scientists to alter an organism’s DNA. By making additions, deletions or alterations at specific points in the genome, unprecedented control over genetic makeup is possible. This practice has gained traction in agriculture, where it’s used to boost productivity or enhance resistance to diseases among crops.
CRISPR: The Driving Force behind Gene Editing
CRISPR, or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a potent gene editing technology, replicating bacteria’s natural defence mechanism against viruses using a special protein known as Cas9. Essentially, CRISPR-Cas9 mimics a cut-and-paste mechanism on DNA strands housing genetic information. Scientists identify the desired location of genetic codes to be edited on the DNA strand and employ the Cas9 protein as a pair of molecular scissors to cut off that location. As a broken DNA strand tends to naturally repair itself, scientists intervene in this process, introducing the desired sequence of genetic codes which binds with the broken DNA strand. This simple yet effective technology holds the potential to dramatically revolutionize human existence.
| Potential Applications | Challenges |
|---|---|
| Treatment of single-gene disorders such as cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and sickle cell disease. | Lack of 100% precision can lead to unintended outcomes with unknown effects. |
| Prevention and treatment of complex diseases including cancer, heart disease, mental illness and HIV infection. | Ethical questions posed by the prospect of designer babies and changing genes without the informed consent of future generations. |
The Potential Impact of CRISPR Technology
CRISPR technology holds immense promise in treating a vast array of diseases, from single-gene disorders like cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and sickle cell disease, to more multifaceted maladies like cancer, heart disease, mental illness and HIV infection. However, CRISPR isn’t infallible; it doesn’t always achieve 100% accuracy, and sometimes it can produce unintended results with unpredictable effects. The scientific community has been urging for a global pause on the clinical application of this technology in humans until robust, internationally approved protocols are firmly established. Furthermore, the technology’s potential to engineer ‘designer babies’ and modify genes without future generations’ informed consent raises profound ethical quandaries.
