Jessica Umanzor

Professor Aisha Sidibe

English 21003

11/30/18

A Future In CRISPR

Deoxyribonucleic Acids (DNA) are the instructions to life within every human, these instructions can be modified and mutated with time, but they never cease to leave you. Imagine being married, forever happy with your spouse and the only thing the two of you dream of is starting a family. The only issue is that you have HIV, it was something you never thought would happen, but you still got it, at some point in your life you had to change everything. You’ve lost jobs, relationships, and opportunities because of this virus and you never want a child for yours to be exposed to a similar fate. Some believe that germline editing is a superficial form of science that can lead to designing children with certain physical desirable traits however, it is a new branch of science that can help eradicate hereditary diseases and disorders in future generations.

Germline editing is a form of genetic engineering in which scientists can edit a specific gene within one’s genome. As a result, they can add, remove or alter within certain locations of the genome. The most recent form genetic engineering is CRISPR-Cas9, this stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and it so happens to be associated with protein 9 (What are Genome editing a CRISPR-Cas9?).  “CRISPR is able to direct Cas9 to any specific DNA sequence in a complex genome. The importance is that Cas9 is an enzyme that produces double-strand breaks in DNA,” (Genetics: Genes to Genomes). The double-stranded breaks in DNA are able to allow scientists to insert or remove certain parts of the genome that is needed in the site sequence. These are called “knockouts” or “knock-ins” respectively. It begins by locating the target sequence undergoing genetics editing, and Cas9 is able to bind and cleave the DNA through a complementary RNA. By affecting the mRNA, the new sequence will then be translated according to their amino acid sequence to formulate a polypeptide chain.

This form of science is revolutionary in that is should be able to open a door in which we are able to help eradicate deadly viruses such as HIV. Nonetheless, this does not eliminate the dangers that come along with the use of CRISPR. There are risks that involve not just the mother and the fetus that was experimented on, but all future generations as well. Because our DNA is what becomes replicated into our gametes, editing that genome would, in theory, affect all future generations to come afterward. The last large known case of a nation mixing genetics and engineering was Nazi Germany. As a result, “the rhetorical misuse of natural selection to promote eugenic policies led to widespread abominations, which included the mass-sterilization of thousands of individuals and the ethnic cleansing of millions of individuals,” (Science and Bioethics of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing: An Analysis Towards Separating Facts and Fiction). These irreversible effects are what is holding scientists back from just diving in and editing hereditary virus out of future infants. HIV, on the other hand, is preventable with precaution throughout a pregnancy but, having the ability to not be able to get HIV at all through CRISPR, is something unheard of.

Just recently there has been the first documented case of genetically engineered twins being born to a mother in China. He Jiankui (also referred to as JK) is a scientist from China who studied at Stanford in the United States was the first to successfully genetically engineer the CCR5 gene, that is a pathway to allow HIV to infect its host. The primary reason why they did this procedure was that of the high percentage of people that are infected with HIV in China, and as a result, many of these people are discriminated against. They can lose their jobs or not get certain healthcare simply because other people know about the condition their in. Within his study all the men had HIV but none of the women did, so they all had a similar connection with how to feel about HIV. The mother of the twins had six pregnancy attempts through in vitro fertilization (IVF) before officially getting pregnant with the twins (Science and Bioethics of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing: An Analysis Towards Separating Facts and Fiction). JK has been able to genetically edit these twin girl’s DNA in order to turn off the protein receptor that would infect them with the HIV virus if they were ever to be exposed to it. The primary difference between the two is that one of the twins has both of her protein receptors turned off so that she definitely immune to HIV yet, her sister had only one of the genes turned off and seems to have inherited a mosaic of cells that have different changes. The only benefit the later twin would have if she were to contract HIV is that it would, in theory, affect her immune system at a slower rate in comparison to the average HIV patient. Overall, JK was able to help this family by allowing them to be the first to experience the ways CRISPR can keep them immune to HIV. If the girls continue to grow healthy, this can open doorways to more research in genetically engineered pregnancies to help eradicate more genetically contracted diseases and disabilities. This has been the first known case of CRISPR working in two human embryos that have carried out full term by their mother.

About The CRISPR Babies – Lulu and Nana

Being that CRISPR is a new branch in science and it has to do with one of the more sensitive parts of our bodies, it’s fair to correlate it with large anxieties about how it would work. It is only by finding out exactly how successful CRISPR is going to be as a form of genetic engineering, will it then allow us to truly eradicate diseases. First discovered in 2012, CRISPR has come a long way in igniting a fierce curiosity in researchers to find a way to use this science to help humanity. Different ways in which CRISPR is already changing lives is by editing malaria out of mosquito genomes, using it to edit neurological degenerative diseases, treating HIV and developing new drugs. These methods are different from direct genetic engineering of the human genome. “Many people are concerned about the creation of “designer babies” with genetic enhancements. The technology could be used to create genetic discrimination through eugenics” (Chinese Researcher Claims First Gene-Edited Babies). Once again, referring to how the last mass case known in our history where we let scientist attempt to mix genetics with engineering was with Nazi Germany. People wanted their children to have certain characteristics in order to be the ‘perfect German’ but that just resulted in large atrocities experimented on the Jewish people. Reasonably, genetic engineering has been a sensitive topic and must be treated with extreme care, so we do not repeat history. It would be ignorant and hypocritical not take this part of our history into consideration when designing a future in CRISPR.

This form of engineering can help save lives, of directed in a legal and proper manner. By creating a form of ethical guidelines to keep researchers within we can study this new branch of science and hopefully gain more knowledge on what exactly it can do for humanity. Despite JK’s success in being able to successfully develop children through the use of genetic engineering, he had to leave the US in order to do testing in his own lab in China because they would not allow it here. There is a future that is untapped within this branch of science and refusing to even attempt to understand it is not beneficial to our society. If we are able to create a society with restrictions to CRISPR we can develop a new way of researching the benefits of CRISPR.

Works Cited

1. “What Are Genome Editing and CRISPR-Cas9? – Genetics Home Reference – NIH.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/genomeediting.
2. Hartwell, Leland H., et al. Genetics Genes to Genomes. 6th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.
3. Cribbs, Adam P., and Sumeth M. W. Perera. “Science and Bioethics of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing: An Analysis Towards Separating Facts and Fiction.” US National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 19 Dec. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5733851/.
4. Marchione | AP, Marilynn. “Chinese Researcher Claims First Gene-Edited Babies.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Nov. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ap-exclusive-first-gene-edited-babies-claimed-in-china/2018/11/25/bb9b74de-f124-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e71f3b50409a.
5. Stein, Rob. “Chinese Scientist Says He’s First To Create Genetically Modified Babies Using CRISPR.” NPR, NPR, 26 Nov. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/11/26/670752865/chinese-scientist-says-hes-first-to-genetically-edit-babies.

Research Paper Draft

Jessica Umanzor

Professor Aisha Sidibe

English 21003

11/30/18

A Future In CRISPR

Deoxyribonucleic Acids (DNA) are the instructions to life within every human, these instructions can be modified and mutated with time but they never cease to leave you. Imagine being married, forever happy with your spouse and the only thing the two of you dream of is starting a family. The only issue is that you have HIV, it was something you never thought would happen but you still got it, at some point in your life you had to change everything. You’ve lost jobs, relationships and opportunities because of this virus and you never want a child for yours to be exposed to a similar fate. Some believe that germline editing is a superficial form of science that can lead to designing children with certain physical desirable traits however, it is a new branch of science that can help eradicate hereditary diseases and disorders in future generations.

Germline editing is a from of genetic engineering in which scientists are able to edit a specific gene within one’s genome. As a result they are able to add, remove or alter within certain locations of the genome. The most recent form genetic engineering is CRISPR-Cas9, this stand for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and it so happens to be associated with protein 9 (What are Genome editing a CRISPR-Cas9?).  “CRISPR is able to direct Cas9 to any specific DNA sequence in a complex genome. The importance is that Cas9 is an enzyme that produces double strand breaks in DNA,” (Genetics: Genes to Genomes). The double stranded breaks in DNA is able to allow scientists to insert of remove certain parts of the genome that is needed in the site sequence. These are called “knock outs” or “knock ins”  respectively. It begins by locating the target sequence undergoing genetics editing, and Cas9 is able bind and cleave the DNA through a complementary RNA. By affecting the mRNA, the new sequence will then be translated according to their amino acid sequence to formulate a polypeptide chain.

This form of science is revolutionary in that is should be able to open a door in which we are able to help eradicate deadly viruses such as HIV. Nonetheless, this does not eliminate the dangers that come along with the use of CRISPR. There are risks that involve not just the mother and the fetus that was experimented on, but all future generations as well. Because out DNA is what becomes replicated into our gametes, editing that genome would in theory, effect all future generations to come afterwards. The last large known case of a nation mixing genetics and engineering was Nazi Germany. As a result “the rhetorical misuse of natural selection to promote eugenic policies led to widespread abominations, which included the mass-sterilization of thousands of individuals and the ethnic cleansing of millions of individuals,” (Science and Bioethics of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing: An Analysis Towards Separating Facts and Fiction). These irreversible effects is what is holding scientists back from just diving in a edit hereditary viruses out of future infants. HIV, on the other hand is preventable with precaution throughout a pregnancy. But having the ability to not be able to get HIV at all through CRISPR, is something unheard of.

Just recently there has been the first documented case of genetically engineered twins being born to a mother in China. He Jiankui (also referred to as JK)and scientist from China who studied at Stanford in the United States was the first to successfully genetically engineer the CCR5 gene, that is a pathway to allow HIV to infect its host. The primary reason why the did this procedure was because of the high percentage of people that are infected with HIV in China, and as a result many of these people are discriminated against. They can lose their jobs or not get certain healthcare simply because other know about the condition their in. Within his study all the men had HIV but none of the women did, in addition, he then use mother had six pregnancy attempts through in vitro fertilization (IVF) before officially getting pregnant with the twins (Link 3). JK has been able to genetically edit these twin girls DNA in order to turn of the protein receptor that would infect them with the HIV virus if they were exposed to it. The primary difference between the two is that one of the twins has both of her protein receptors turned off so that she in in effect, immune to HIV yet, her sister had only one of the genes turned off and seems to have inherited a mosaic of cells that have different changes. The only benefit the later twin would have if she were to contract HIV is that it would in theory affect her immune system at a slower rate in comparison to the average HIV patient. Overall, JK was able to help this family by allowing them to be the first to experience the ways CRISPR is able to keep them immune to HIV. If the girls continue to grow healthy, this can open doorways to more research in genetically engineered pregnancies to help eradicate more genetically contracted diseases and disabilities. This has been the first known case of CRISPR working in two human embryos that have carried out full term by their mother.

About The CRISPR Babies – Lulu and Nana

Being that CRISPR is a new branch in science and it has to do with one of the more sensitive parts of our bodies, it’s fair to correlate it with large anxieties with how it would work. Exactly how successful is CRISPR going to be as form of genetic engineering, and will allow us to truly eradicate diseases we are thrown in finding a cure. First discovered in 2012, CRISPR has come a long way in igniting a firce curiosity in researchers to find a way to use this science to help humanity. Different ways in which CRISPR is already changing lives is by editing malaria out of mosquito genomes, using it to edit neurological degenerative diseases, treating HIV and developing new drugs. These methods are different from direct genetic engineering of the human genome. “Many people are concerned about the creation of “designer babies” with genetic enhancements. The technology could be used to create genetic discrimination through eugenics” (link 4). Once again, referring back to how the last mass case known in our history where we let scientist attempt to mix genetics with engineering was with Nazi Germany. People wanted their children to have certain characteristics in order to be the ‘perfect german’ but that just resulted in large atrocities experimented on the jewish people. Reasonably, genetic engineering has been a sensitive topic and must be treated with extreme care so we do not repeat history. It would be ignorant and hypocritical not not take this part of our history into consideration when designing a future in CRISPR.

This form of engineering can help save lives, of directed in a legal and proper manner. By creating a form of ethical guidelines to keep researchers within we are able to study this new branch of science and hopefully gain more knowledge on what exactly it can do for humanity. Despite JK’s success in being able to successfully develop children through the use of genetic engineering, he had to leave the US in order to do testing in his own lab in China because they would not allow it. There is a future that is untapped and refusing to even attempt to understand it is not beneficial to our society. If we are able to create a society with restrictions to CRISPR we can develop a new way of researching the benefits of this science to our society.

 

Works Cited

1. “What Are Genome Editing and CRISPR-Cas9? – Genetics Home Reference – NIH.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/genomeediting.
2. Hartwell, Leland H., et al. Genetics Genes to Genomes . 6th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.
3. Cribbs, Adam P., and Sumeth M. W. Perera. “Science and Bioethics of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing: An Analysis Towards Separating Facts and Fiction.” US National Library of Medicine / National Institutes of Health , Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 19 Dec. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5733851/.
4. Marchione | AP, Marilynn. “Chinese Researcher Claims First Gene-Edited Babies.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Nov. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ap-exclusive-first-gene-edited-babies-claimed-in-china/2018/11/25/bb9b74de-f124-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e71f3b50409a.
5. Stein, Rob. “Chinese Scientist Says He’s First To Create Genetically Modified Babies Using CRISPR.” NPR, NPR, 26 Nov. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/11/26/670752865/chinese-scientist-says-hes-first-to-genetically-edit-babies.