Gene Editing Technology : Overview

Once the complex was bound to the DNA, a cut would be made to eliminate and destroy the invaders. 83% of archaeal genomes and 45% of bacterial genomes (Shabbir, M. et al, 2016) were shown to be able to successfully utilize the CRISPR Cas9 system. These are very promising statistics, so it is no wonder that there has been such an advancement in the past few years to bring this technology to eukaryotic cells, mammalian cells and eventually human cells.

“Advances in genetic science could change the basic nature of human beings by allowing people to alter their genetic makeup or the genetic makeup of their children” (Kahn). Since editing human genes is an extremely controversial topic with great consequences, laws concerning gene editing vary worldwide. In the United States there is no ban on gene editing, however, the government cannot fund embryo modification. Altering human genes is wrong because it could lead to societal problems, create new genetic diseases, and it is immoral.

Since the beginning of our lives, humans are born with a specific set of chromosomes that contain the genetic information that will code for our personality, appearance and our biological functioning (Science Learning Hub, 2011). Inside those chromosomes, humans can develop a wide range of genetically-based diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, diabetes and some forms of cancers, due to mutations of the DNA structure (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2015). A new technique created by researchers called Restriction Nuclease Mediated Recombination, has the ability to successfully replace DNA sequences in order to eliminate genetic-based diseases. Initially, this technology appears to one of the greatest scientific accomplishments, however

Although there is a lot of potential for the field of gene therapy, there are some disadvantages that can make its use dangerous or ineffective. The disruption of a gene can be induced in an undesired location within the DNA sequence. Without more targeted techniques such as zinc finger nucleases or emerging technologies such as TALENs or CRISPR, it is difficult to foresee where the breaks will occur. For example, lentiviruses can randomly integrate into TSS or transcription start sites that code for oncogenes that cause cancer. Disrupting or activating unknown genes is a dangerous game. TALENs and CRISPR are emerging methods that are helping to appease these problems.

The overall focus of the article is on a new way of science, CRISPR. This “ revolutionary gene-editing technique” is a recent discovery that enables scientists to take out and replace certain sections of DNA. (“Editing The Human Race” 1) It’s like they are “playing God” by considering “designer babies and mutants” as the result to this technology. (1) Using this can “transform the world” through the introduction of bringing new and extinct organisms to a new level. (1) Although, a variety of biologist, scientists, and geneticists do disagree with this new scientific knowledge. Is editing “ desirable traits into a person’s DNA” the right path we should be taking? Numerous professionals say, “there are things you would not want to

Gene editing has been a big technological topic that has been talked about a lot over the last few years. Is it ethical? Does it promote social justice? Is it good for the environment? I personally do not think it promotes any of these ideas. It signifies the idea that the rich get richer, and gene editing has a huge ethical complication. Not to mention that it is not the most natural thing to be able to edit genes to someone’s liking.

The alteration of human DNA or human genome is now a practical matter of science and inevitable, but is a question of ethical issues. Changing a human’s genome can change how they look, act, and can even minimize genetic problems. A genome can determine many things such as how someone may age, how well they adapts to the environment, and even their personality and mental health. Scientists have found ways to alter these sequences of DNA to make plants, animals, and even babies with those genetic traits seen as more desirable. For example, In the late 1980’s a scientist at the University of Japan found a repeated DNA gene sequence which later another scientist found that this sequences is part of a sophisticated immune system that bacteria use to fight viruses. (A Powerful New Way to Edit DNA). This sequence could be modified to help humans fight

The cheapest method, CRISPR, or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats allows for the genome to be cut and spliced back together using the Cas9 nuclease. These changes are permanent, and will be passed down to future generations. However, there are concerns that this method of gene editing could slow down and eventually stop human evolution, and CRISPR editing is not as precise as other methods. The Cas9 nuclease has no problem with cutting out parts of DNA, but it often struggles with filling the gaps it creates. The replacing DNA strands are sometimes guided into the wrong place, resulting in unwanted, unneeded, and permanent changes to the genome that can do more harm than

Gene editing on human embryos, a highly sensitive and controversial practice in the medical world, has been debated over its ethical properties in many medical summits such as the international summit in Washington DC that took place recently. Genome editing is a form of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted or replaced in the genome of an organism, using engineered nucleases, or "molecular scissors." Gene editing on human embryo is extremely risky, medically unnecessary in most aspects, and considered profoundly damaging to social justice and human rights.

“This year about 564,800 Americans are expected to die of cancer—more than 1,500 people a day” (“Helping Families Face the Challenges”). Imagine if this detrimental disease, and innumerable life-altering others, were removed from the human biological code (Palus 20)? This may become reality, and human genome editing is responsible. However, due to ethical concerns this practice is prohibited in 15 of the 22 European nations (“Don't Edit the Human Germline”). Animals are currently used for this type of research where humans are taboo, though it is no longer practical. Their DNA, despite showing similarities, is neither identical to a humans nor accurately translatable to human embryonic research (“Failure of the Animal Model”). If an effective

According to “Are biotechnology…,” the science of genetic engineering can be defined as “the process of introducing, eliminating, or changing an organism’s genetic material.” But as this article also states, this idea of editing an organism’s characteristics is nothing new. Selective breeding, for example, haws been common in society for a long time. Hitchings mentions the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system which is just one example of many different systems available. As this science has gained popularity, ethical concerns have been brought up, along with a debate on if these concerns prove it to be unethical. Although some scientist claim that the medical and economic benefits outweigh the many risks, genetic engineering is not ethical because of the moral issues surrounding

This article is about the successful research of some researchers from Oregon Health and Science University. The article said that those researchers found a way to modify the DNA of human in order to change genes that lead to a genetic heart condition. They used a technology called CRISPR, which is a gene modifying system that replaces deficient genes with healthy ones. Also, this technology could lead to the elimination of all hereditary diseases. In addition, the success of this technology is coming up with new ideas such as the possibility to make people taller, stronger, and smarter. Another aspect is that the CRISPR research is heading to the possibility to design babies. Moreover, it said that to forbid scientists from going too far

In a hospital in Hangzhou China, doctor Wu Shixiu has been using CRISPR-Cas9 technology in hopes of providing a revolutionary cure for cancer (Wall Street Journal 2018). Since then, China has already successfully cloned two infant macaques (MIT Technology Review). China’s initiative in gene editing technology has set forth a race with the United States for the development of gene editing therapy. Gene editing promises mothers that they can save their children from genefits defects and cancer patients that they can be cured. Although the inception of gene editing technology provides tremendous hope to many cancer patients, it is important to remember the reality of gene editing and the ethical questions this technological feat poses.

    Through recombinant DNA techniques, scientists have already experimented with bacteria and copied their cellular system that allows them to defend themselves from viruses in order to create a new restriction enzyme called Cas9, which then gets bound to an RNA guide strand. This new enzyme introduces new genetic material into the human genome as DNA replicates. This method will be useful for families members who carry harmful recessive alleles. Their babies could inherit the genetic disorder, but with recombinant DNA techniques, the harmful gene or genes could easily be replaced with a functional gene. Lauren Friedman, Senior editor for

Modified nucleases have been used for years in order to achieve successful genome editing and are nowadays an almost universally-used method. RNA-guided nucleases (such as Cas9) with easily changeable characteristics have been generated in great numbers especially since the emergence of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). This represents the most modern tool that can be used by scientists for genome editing. This technology can bring a broad range of medical benefits and advancements (1).