I just found this really interesting (~30 min) podcast today about CRISPR. In short it's apparently the next big thing for genetic engineering - something that could potentially make designing perfect humans, bringing back extinct animals or eradicating genetic diseases a reality in the future.
Unethical? Very likely.
Cool? Undoubtedly.
I'd love to hear opinions about this. (Also, I'm new to hubski. Forgive me if this is too much/not enough of a first post.)
I listened to this the other day as well (I highly suggest the "NPR one" app on your phone -- it has been great for long trips and easy access to NPR content) So the guys at Radiolab were pretty sensational on the podcast in my opinion... However, it was very informative. I can not believe they didn't bring up the movie GATTACA (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/) as this technology holds the potential to bring that movie to life -- (also, gattaca is spelled using only g,a,t and c -- the same letters we abbreviate for nucleotides to describe dna sequences!). I dont really see what would be wrong with bringing back, say, a wooly mammoth... but to do that gradually with 1 or 2 gene changes at a time? woah thats a complicated task. Getting each cell to uptake the code change? Suppressing the immune system... which genes go first? Im not saying its impossible but I find it hard to believe the time scale they eluded to science being able to do it. Both ethically and science wise, I think we are still a long way away from actually being able to use it to benefit humans. BUT woah, the technology to potentially end unneeded suffering from genetic diseases! I think we should embrace rather than fear the tech! Think of the long term health care savings! Think about curing a cancer like breast cancer that is often attributed to genetics! Im excited.
Yeah, I think they were being a little sensational as well. This clearly can't create new species or put us in a Jurassic Park situation. This seems to be the beginning of a short series, so I'm interested in what else they're going to say about this field.
Very interesting podcast. It's definitely a wonderful tool for genetic diseases. The issue is that the more scientists develop it and "perfect it" for this kind of treatment, the more dangerous it can become in the case of altering embryos or sperm cells. The fact that this technology is cheaper than others does not help. Also, the new gene could potentially mutate in unexpected ways inside a sperm cell, and that could be disastrous. Every human's DNA is different, so results can vary enormously.