What’s wrong with gene therapy?

That liquid is full of GENES. Are we capable of intervening genetically to improve ourselves? Photo by Louis Reed.

For the last few years, every week brings a new headline with tantalizing breakthroughs in gene therapy. Each fawning science article promises that a genetic solution to aging, disease, and cancer is just around the corner.

Yet here I sit, growing older and unhealthier by the minute. Where’s my magical pill to cure all diseases? Why aren’t we curing cancer patients by giving them a shot of magical CRISPR-driven gene therapy and then sending them off to go play beach volleyball?

We hear about a lot of new discoveries in genetics, but they don’t seem to translate to clinical solutions. Where do they go wrong?

I’m often asked this question, so I thought I’d discuss some of the biggest reasons why we aren’t genetically engineered, super-strong, cancer-proof, healthy, nearly immortal beings.

The Hydra of Cancer

No, not the enemy Nazi-esque organization in Marvel’s Captain America comics and movies — although their catchphrase is apt. Whenever intrepid Captain America unmasked an agent of Hydra, they’d glare defiantly up at the hero and make their final declaration:

“Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place! Hail Hydra!”

That utterance is surprisingly similar to how cancer works — and why it proves so difficult for us…