CRISPR and Human Life Research Assignment

CRISPR and Human Life
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CRISPR and Human Life
The last half-century has experienced a revolution in genetic engineering. Discovered in 2013, CRISPR has been considered as the biggest game changer to hit biology since PCR. CRISPR is a gene-editing tool and compared to other methods of editing genes with molecular tools it is not only cheaper and quicker it is also easier to use, the reason for its widespread use in laboratories today. However, just like in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the 1970s, when it was introduced, there are those who have concerns about its rapid progress. Unlike IVF that does not make any changes to the human genome, only changes the site of fertilization, CRISPR edits the human genome. While some scientists are worried whether technique generates stray and risky genome edits, others, such as religious leaders see it a threat to the nature of humanity as it interferes with God’s creation (Ariana, 2018). Despite the concerns, CRISPR technologies are being applied in research and beyond, for example, genome screening and in food and industry biotechnology.
Louise Brown, the world’s first baby born through IVF, turned 40 a few months ago (Henig, 2003). Her birth was prominently featured in the headlines for varied reasons and was surrounded by controversy. Although IVF was a significant step in science, many were horrified by it, and even some scientists feared that she would not be normal and that laboratory manipulation would leave dreadful genetic derailments (Henig, 2003). IVF has led to the birth of birth of seven million children worldwide and the fears people had at the time of its introduction may seem quaint and absurd. IVF brings hope to barren marriages and fertility clinics are currently a $17 billion business globally (Ariana, 2018). However, the same fears surround the human cloning and other genetic interventions such as CRISPR and PCR; that they may become as commonplace as a test tube baby. Religious leaders, especially the Catholics considered IVF as unnatural, immoral and possibly dangerous, and feared that IVF babies would possess superhuman powers or weird defects not known to humans. (Ariana, 2018) Critics of IVF kept the federal govern from funding research and unwillingly paved the way for its tremendous growth with little oversight as private companies filled the funding volume to support entrepreneurial scientist. Due to lack of oversight, it only in the recent years that the rate of congenital disabilities and low birth weight related to IVF has come to light (Henig, 2003). In the same way, some scientists fear that the rapid increase in the application of CRISPR, with little oversight, may lead to genetic defects that may be kept hidden from the general public. The concerns about CRISPR revolve around its potential for treating disease or gene-editing of human embryos.
The first use of CRISPR-Cas9 was reported by researchers in early 2013, to slice the genome in human cells at the preferred locations (Ledford, 2016). Since then, molecular biologists have widely adopted the technique which is an extraordinarily powerful way to understand the functioning of the genome. CRISPR-Cas9 is altering how biologists can tinker with cells in ...