DailyDirt: GATTACA, Here We Come
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The time to debate the merits and risks of genetically engineering our children is nearly over-ripe. The technology to select physical traits for animals exists for breeding custom single-celled organisms, laboratory rats and desirable farm animals. It wouldn't be a technological feat to apply gene editing techniques to humans, but it certainly raises some serious ethical questions over whether such activities should be allowed or under what circumstances they would be permitted.- Biologists who have developed various gene editing processes (eg. Crispr, zinc fingers, TAL effectors) are calling for a moratorium on altering human genes that would be passed on to future generations. We could prevent certain genetic diseases or make more kids with blond hair and blue eyes... but before we start creating designer babies, we might want to think about some of the ramifications first. [url]
- Getting the child you always wanted is never guaranteed -- even when you go to a sperm bank and specifically request a certain kind of donor. Mistakes will be made. We haven't decided how to handle some of the simplest errors yet, but the courts will work it all out. [url]
- A dozen countries (not the US) already ban human germline engineering. Research is currently being done on primates in many labs, so human gene editing could be a practical procedure in a few decades or less. [url]
Filed Under: biotech, crispr, designer babies, ethics, eugenics, gattaca, genetic engineering, genetics, germline, gmo, tal effectors, zinc fingers
