Genome Editing | EssayIvy.com

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Scientific Literacy

Genome Editing

The discovery of CRISPR ability to easy and enhance accuracy has regained the attention

of gene editing. Researchers and bioethicists believe that the studies that would ensure the

effectiveness and safety of gene therapy should continue, but human genome editing for the

reproductive purpose should not be done at this particular time. Many stakeholders agree that the

public should decide on whether gene editing should be permitted through debates and public

deliberation. More than forty countries in 2014 banned or discouraged research concerning gene

editing. There is international effort to control the application of the gene editing technologies

that is led by China, the US, and the UK. In December 2015 in Washington, Dc this effort was

officially launched by the International Summit on Human Gene Editing. This has resulted in a

great debate on whether it should be supported or discouraged as discussed.

Safety

Safety is the prime concern due to the mosaicism (some cell carry the edit while others do

not) and the off-target effects. From the writings and speech of researchers and ethicists on

genome editing, they conclude that genome editing should not be used for clinical purposes in

clinics despite it been safe through research saying that the potential benefit cannot be compared

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to risks incurred (Lanphier, Edward, et al. p-410). Some researchers argue that genome editing

will never offer better services compared to the current technology such as in-vitro fertilization

(IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PDG)

Nevertheless, bioethicists and scientists agree that gene editing could serve a need that is

not in the current technology such as incidences of polygenic disorder that are controlled by

more than one gene and in case of homozygous parents towards a disease-causing variant. Some

researchers and bioethicists argue that genome editing starts us on a slippery slope which is not

for the enhancement of non-therapeutic purpose thus posing a controversial. Others say that

having an effective measure and safety gene editing should be allowed to cure genetic diseases.

To enhance gene editing, there should be regulations and policies that are set to govern it.

Lack of informed consent

Since patients that are affected by edits are mostly future generation and embryo, this

poses a challenge since a few people worry that it is difficult to get skilled consent for gene

therapy. The ability of the parents to make many decisions that affect their future generation is a

counterargument that includes difficult decision such as IVF and PDG. If gene therapy is known,

bioethicists and researchers are worried that it is hard to find a genuinely informed consent

among the prospective parents.

Equality and Justice

There is a concern that genome editing with many new technologies will only be

accessible by the rich thus increasing disparities and inequality in the assessment of health care

and other interventions. Genome editing would result in the creation of classes of individuals that

will be defined from their level of the engineered genome.

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Genome editing research that involves embryos

People have a religious and moral objection to the use of an embryo for their study thus

hindering federal funds from carrying out any research that destroys or creates an embryo. Use of

gene editing in man is not funded by NIH (de Miguel Beriain and Iñigo p-115). "Should there be

the legalization of gene editing? Some suggestions based on the existing regulatory framework."

Bioethics 33.1 (2019): 105-111. Due to lack of funding from NIH for gene editing in embryos,

researchers and bioethicists believe that gene editing in human embryos is only significant for

myriad reasons such as addressing the scientific question concerning the biology of man as long

as it does not concern reproduction. Different countries have approved gene editing either on

viable or on non-viable embryos both have their moral consideration.

Risks

In 2016, Genome editing was referred to as mass destruction by Worldwide Threat

Assessment of the US Intelligence Community report stating that gene editing ends up creating

harmful products or harmful biological agents. As per a report produced the low cost, broad

distribution and the fueled pace of development of gene editing technology would lead to far-

reaching national security and economic implications (Carroll and Dana, p-1463). CRISPR, for

instance, could be used to produce "killer mosquitoes" that would result from plaguing as a result

of wiping out staple crops

As per the report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on September 2016 low cost and

simplicity of tools to change genetic code would allow new and unskilled personnel to perform

their experiments which could result to realizing of genetically modified bugs thus considerable

risk. Modification of a person's genome results to complex changes in the future generations that

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will demand urgent ethical scrutiny a per the review found. Since the alterations are made on the

egg or sperm, this modification could result in unintended consequences to the future generation.

Ian Ramshaw and Ronald Jackson are researchers from Austria who in 2001 published in

Journal of virology a paper on who they would eradicate mice which is the major pest in the

country by injecting the pest with the mousepox virus. That would result in infertility of the

animal which was considered as a risk which could be used by bioterrorists to create a vaccine

for the other pox virus which would affect man. This also results in ecological risk as a result of

releasing gene drives into the wild population.

Human enhancement

Despite the disadvantages that are associated with gene editing some bioethicists and

research claim that it would result in human enhancement which is also supported by many

transhumanists (de Araujo and Marcelo, p-30). David Andrew Sinclair, a professor of genetics

and Australian biologist, believes that there would be healthier children with the new technology

that allows gene editing to be used on humans. According to a report by Nuffield Council on

bioethics in September 2016, it will be possible in future to enhance people with genes wholly

synthetic or organism genes that will help to improve the sense of smell and night vision. In

February 2017 a qualified support for gene editing was issued by National Academy of Medicine

and The American National Academy of Science. Once safety and efficiency problems are

found, then they will recommend genome editing.

With the engineered nucleases, the most important goal of research on gene editing must

be improved on specificity and safety of nucleases. We can upgrade to learn about ways of

preventing them by improving our ability to detect off-target events. There is a need for

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understanding of repair machinery and necessary combination of DNA to modify the genome

with engineered nucleases as researched by Dana Carroll. A method to identify secondary target

will be invented in the future thus helping to order the flaking DNA by use of high throughput

sequencing. Due to the cost efficiency and ease of use of CRISPR, there is more publication on

the research is done and the discoveries that will help in its implementation on large scale

production due to its efficiency.

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Work Cited

Carroll, Dana. "Progress and prospects: zinc-finger nucleases as gene therapy agents." Gene

therapy 15.22 (2008): 1463.

De Araujo, Marcelo. "Editing the genome of human beings: CRISPR-Cas9 and the ethics of

genetic enhancement." Journal of Evolution and Technology 27 (2017): 24-42.

De Miguel Beriain, Iñigo. "Should human germline editing be allowed? Some suggestions based

on the existing regulatory framework." Bioethics 33.1 (2019): 105-111.

Lanphier, Edward, et al. "Don’t edit the human germline." Nature News 519.7544 (2015): 410.

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