In today’s ever-changing society, the lines between fact and fiction seem to be ever blurring and technology is advancing faster than ever before. One of these advancements, Genetic Modification, has shown us endless possibilities and also thrown up significant ethical and philosophical questions.
What is genetic modification?
It is the process of directly altering organisms genetic make-up by removing unwanted traits and adding favorable new ones. At its core is modifying DNA -Deoxy Ribonucleic Acid – and the genome.
DNA is the genetic code that decides all the characteristics of that living being, while genome is the sum total of an organism’s DNA. Our physical attributes (eg. height, weight, eye color, etc) and biological propensities (genetic diseases, hair loss etc) are decided by our DNA and the genes contained within it. So, one can say that by changing the DNA of an organism, one changes the organism itself.
Genetic modification is the branch of biotechnology which uses this principle at its core.
Where we stand today :
Previously, methods to genetically modify organisms depended on trial and error, scientists would try various methods hoping to get a useful variation, and progress was slow and uncertain. But now, technology has advanced a lot more thanks to a new gene editing tool called the CRISPR system.
CRISPR is the simplest, most versatile and efficient method of genetic manipulation which is able to edit genes with utmost precision. And guess what? Scientists didn’t invent it, nature did!
CRISPR-Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
CRISPR is a naturally-occurring defense system found in a wide range of bacteria, which stores the DNA bits of dangerous viruses within it so it can defend against that virus in case it is attacked again. Once the virus is detected, it releases an enzyme, Cas9, which accurately snips out the harmful virus DNA, thereby shutting the gene off.
Scientists have found a way to manipulate and engineer this Cas9 enzyme to ‘edit’ a given DNA strand as per their programming and it can snip out unwanted DNA sequences and replace them with useful ones. Cas9 is extremely precise, efficient and fast as compared to the previously existing gene-editing tools. The discovery of the CRISPR system has reduced test durations from years to just mere weeks and has opened us various avenues in the field of medicine and engineering.
Here are just a few applications of CRISPR technology:
GMC’s-Genetically Modified Crops
These are crops and plants that have been genetically engineered to improve upon their original counterpart. Not only do they give farmers better produce and volume, they can be modified to match and adapt to the climate they are planted in. They require less care and resources to maintain and have a longer shelf life than non-GMC’s. May it be to increase pesticide resistance of crops or make fruits bigger and juicier, GMC’s are already part of our life as seen from the above chart.
Lab Rats
Genetically modified rats are used extensively in the research and development of medicine. They serve as perfect models of human disease research since their tissues and organs are similar to humans and 99% of human genes are also found in rats. Thus drugs and trials are first carried out on these lab rats to ensure they don’t cause any adverse effect on humans. Using these rats scientists have managed to study and model conditions like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and HIV.
Possible cure for HIV and Cancer
In 2016, scientists used CRISPR to try and cut the HIV virus out of living cells using genetically modified rats as a test subject. The rats had the HIV virus in almost every cell, but, on injecting them with the CRISPR system, they were able to remove nearly half the virus from the rat’s body cells. This opened up the possibility of an HIV cure using CRISPR technology. Similarly, studies are being conducted to introduce a genetically modified immune system to combat cancer cells by eradicating these cells and preventing them from multiplying.
Human Modification
The biggest and most controversial scope of genetic modification lies in the editing of the human genome. It is possible to edit the genes of a human in the early embryonic stage, and these alterations would appear in every cell of the person who developed from that gamete or embryo, and also in all subsequent generations. This would result in permanent genetic modification and could possibly eradicate many genetic conditions such as Down’s syndrome or sickle cell anemia. These gene-editing techniques are approaching clinical trials and practice, but only for a few extreme conditions, and at an extremely high cost.
People fear that in the distant future gene-modification could be used to change vanity traits such as looks and intelligence. This would raise many ethical and social problems and the prospects of such a use are still in debate.
The advancement of Genetic modification has caused quite a bit of controversy and has been debated over for a long time. The technology is still in its primary stages and needs a lot of perfecting before it can be actively tried on humans.
Meanwhile, we as a species need to debate the philosophical and ethical issues including whether this will lead us down the path of ecological and social disaster by ‘playing God’ or is this the next step in human evolution.