The Case Against CRISPR Gene Editing, Part I
Why CRISPR may not be a panacea for all disease
One year ago, the world’s first genetically edited babies were born, twin girls given the pseudonyms Lulu and Nana; Chinese scientist He Jiankui had used CRIPSR technology to edit the CCR5 gene in human embryos with the aim of conferring resistance to HIV. In response to the international furor, China began redrafting its civil code to include regulations that would hold scientists accountable for any adverse outcomes that occur as the result of genetic manipulation in human populations. Now, reproductive biologists at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City are riding on the heels of controversy with their own experiment designed to target BRCA2 in sperm cells. But before we start reinventing ourselves and mapping out our genetic futures, maybe we should take a moment to reevaluate the risks and repercussions of gene editing and rethink our goals and motives.
A brief introduction to CRISPR-Cas9
How does CRISPR work? CRISPR-Cas9 takes advantage of the bacterial equivalent of adaptive immunity. CRISPR, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, is an RNA mediated bacterial defense against viral or plasmid DNA. When a bacterium is exposed to a pathogen such as a bacteriophage, it stores…
