By Betsy Mayer
The UK’s Human Fertilization and Egg Authority (HFEA) has given a Francis Crick Institute researcher permission to work with the germ-line of human cells, “the DNA in an embryo so early in its development that all of its resulting cells will…pass it on to the next generation,” a recent Time magazine article reports. HFEA mandates that these embryos be destroyed within 14 days, just long enough for scientific observations.
The researcher will use CRISPR, a relatively new genetic editing technology that can cut out the genes for HIV, correct sickle-cell anemia, alter cancer cells to make chemotherapy more effective, etc. While previous techniques for editing DNA have been “blunt and unreliable,” CRISPR technology is quickly emerging as “the precision blade.” Although widely available and simple to use, geneticists have been very reluctant to use it on human embryos for ethical reasons. “CRISPR opens the door to an unprecedented level of control over the human genome,” says Mary-Claire King, a geneticist and the discoverer of the BRCA1 cancer gene.
In the UK, it is illegal to implant an altered embryo into a woman, and all research labs and IVF clinics—private and public—are under HFEA regulation and oversight. Violators could be fined or imprisoned. “There is confidence that as long as you are doing things approved by HFEA then you know you’re not stepping over any boundaries,” says Crick Institute researcher, Lovell-Badge.
IVF clinics in the US and many other countries aren’t regulated and could theoretically employ CRISPR and promise parents-to-be their own “designer baby.” “That really scares me because you can imagine someone with a big ego whether it’s a patient or a clinician wanting to be the first to do this type of thing,” Lovell-Badge adds.
In the hands of unselfish people, technology is a great blessing; but as evil and selfishness increase, CRISPR technology could also increase human misery.
The antediluvians experimented with the genome to create super-creatures and mix the genetic code. Hitler tried to do experiments on the human genome to develop a super-race. Others have tried various methods to improve the human genome and reduce incidence of medical anomalies. In the last days, experiments on the human genome will again become a feature of scientific research. Of course, it will be justified on the basis that it will produce good results for the human race. But questions remain concerning the opportunities the technology will create later.
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