Genetic editing research is a hot topic in research these days and is booming. Scientists think they are on the verge of discovering ways to wipe out certain mosquitoes that carry malaria, treat genetic diseases like sickle-cell and prevent babies from inheriting a life-threatening disorder.
The debate about the ethical boundaries of genome editing is only just beginning. How does a gene scientist experiment with human embryos? China has already done it and Britain is poised to do the same.
What about the environmental effects of altering mosquitoes or other insects, and plants? Should human genes be edited so that the edits can be passed on to future generations? In other words, alter human heredity.
A team of scientists think they can hammer out a balance among themselves. So they are planning a meeting in December.
“Laboratories worldwide are embracing technology to precisely edit genes inside living cells — turning them off or on, repairing or modifying them — like a biological version of cut-and-paste software.” Scientists can now target virtually any gene and alter it. Sickle-cell, for instance, is caused by a single gene defect that’s easy to reach.
It started in China, when scientists reported that they had edited human embryos to correct a deadly disease-causing gene. Though it wasn’t very successful, it created a lot of interest.
And of course the follow-on question is whether it is ethical to use gene editing to create designer babies apart from fixing a disease or abnormality.
“But if there was one sin above another, which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere.” The Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 1, page 69
“As it was in the days of Noe…” Luke 17:26
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