Designer DNA — Netflix Explained
Netflix and Vox have launched a new show with 20-minute episodes on topics that drive our lives or our world. It’s called Explained. They’ve already launched four very heterogeneous episodes: the racial wealth gap, the practice of monogamy, the k-pop phenomenon and the fascinating world of design DNA. I’m going to focus on the final one.
We’ve spoken in several articles about CRISPR and about ethical reflections about whether we should evolve ourselves. The episode of Explained raises some interesting questions but the most powerful thing is the way they structured them. After a brief introduction to CRISPR with powerful names like Jennifer Doudna, it raises a first division in the use of genetic editing. On the one hand there is the genetic edition of somatic cells (blood, brain, skin), most of the cells of our body and whose DNA is not transmitted to our children. On the other hand are the germ cells (ovules, sperm) whose DNA does pass to the next generations.
In the first we can treat an individual (diseases, for example) but if we modify the second, we would be influencing the future of our species. Then they add a new dimension to the graph, the purpose: therapy or enhancement. If we focus on therapy in somatic cells we are talking about medical treatments; which is where we are right now. What happens if we focus on somatic cells for improvement? We would be talking about plastic surgery but with genetic editing, something that hasn’t been done yet but it will come. At this point there would be people improved, augmented, not because of health problems but to acquire a competitive advantage. The first debate is who will access to these possibilities and what effects will generate. It’s no longer to be more beautiful, but to be superior in some skills. What will happen to the world of sports, for example? Will there be a division only for genetically modified ones?
If we take the germline, things get complicated. If we talk about therapy we would be influencing the health of future generations. We could eradicate diseases by treating this type of cells in our next generations, something that if done well, I don’t think it will generate any debate, right? But what do we consider disease? The borders are very blurry. In the documentary you can hear testimonies of people with down syndrome or with dwarfism explaining their point of view. And finally, if we put ourselves in the line of enhancement, we would be talking about generating changes in our species that have nothing to do with diseases, but with what we believe will be competitive advantages, directly influencing in our evolution. This is the most complex terrain of all, taking us to scenarios seen in Nazism or in films like Gattaca.
Very interesting reflections, although futuristic, we are talking about a relatively near future … What do you think?
#365daysof #crispr #genetic #netflix #futurism #day119
