David Uto

UWRT 1102

Ms. Spillane

October 25th, 2017

How Will Gene Editing Technology Affect Our Future Generations?

Humanity has seen an exponential increase in technological advances since electricity

was invented in 1879. With these advancements we have seen improvements in our daily lives

such as lights in our homes, cars to mobilize ourselves with, and even the ability to rely on

electronics to do our basic chores for us. However, the beauty of all this innovation lies in the

fact that innovation never stops as we strive to create the ideal environment for the human race.

Included in these innovations are advancements in the health care field. To truly make our lives

better, we must be healthy enough to actually live that better life. This is where a relatively new

technological advancement comes into play called gene editing.

As humans, we possess around 19,000-24,000 protein-coding genes that all play a role in

how our bodies, mental abilities, and personalities develop. Our bodies express and regulate

these genes in order to create what is us as humans. However, even though our bodies regulate

gene expressions by possessing cell cycle checkpoints and glands that control the release of

hormones, our bodies unfortunately are not perfect and mistakes happen in this process. The

mistakes we as humans make in our daily lives really do not seem like a big deal, maybe you

wrote the wrong word and you have to erase it or you put your shirt on backwards. When it

comes to mistakes in our gene expression, this can make all the difference between the quality of
life an individual will live. An example of this is chromosome expression. Downs syndrome is a

genetic disease that arises from an extra chromosome copy of chromosome number 21. By

simply having one extra chromosome, the quality of health and life to be expected from this

individual can be much lower than that of a human with a normal amount of chromosomes. This

is gene editing comes into play. What if a technological advancement capable of fixing this

expression problem came along? How could this benefit those with problems stemming from

errors in gene expression? In this inquiry paper the topic of gene editing will be analyzed

according to three points: First, from a healthcare viewpoint. How will gene editing benefit those

born with genetic diseases such as Cystic fibrosis, Huntingtons disease, hemophilia and Downs

syndrome? Second, from an ethical viewpoint. The main question that have scientist arguing

whether or not gene editing should continue on is if it is right to alter the human body when

nature created it a certain way? This is a complicated question that many people have different

viewpoints on. Finally the third viewpoint, Is it financially feasible to fund this therapy process?

To continue the development of gene editing new technology has to be created and paid for in

order to put all of the research into action. Scientist have to spend vast amounts of their time

which they have to be paid for. This unfortunately requires a lot of funding, therefore the

question lies in who will pay for all of this? Are any medical corporations interested in the

investment of this procedure? (Gene editing is part of a new wave of healthcare innovations to

better the lives of those affected by genetic deficiencies they have no control over, yet is

relatively new so how will we tackle this venture? By analyzing these three different viewpoints,

the world behind gene editing science and how it will affect future generations will become

much more clearer.

Gene Editing and Healthcare Issues

We humans are truly blessed to have the abilities that we possess due to our body. We are

able to run, climb, look, hear and even communicate efficiently amongst ourselves.

Unfortunately with such complex bodies, they are also accompanied by complex problems.

Taking care of our physical health has been crucial since the beginning of our humanity. It is not

possible for a species to thrive if they are not healthy enough to survive in their environment.

With this in mind, technological advances such as gene editing are being researched and

developed in order to improve the health standard for those suffering from genetic diseases. At

this point, I researched different genetic diseases to see how they affected the human body and

how gene editing would be able to help them from a health care view point. I chose to focus on

Huntingtons disease as it is known to be a terrible progressive disease with no cure so far. By

researching gene editing, those affected might have the opportunity to beat this disease.

Huntingtons disease is a genetic disease that results in the progressive destruction of

nerve cells in the brain (Piguet 990). This genetic disease is lethal and greatly lowers the health

quality of the affected individual as the disease progresses. This merciless disease in the initial

stages affects the individual by making it difficult to think through problems and also affects the

persons mood by causing depression and mood swings. In the middle stages, this genetic disease

affects voluntary movements such as walking and swallowing. Changes in thinking arises

making the thought process a lot more difficult than in the initial stages. In the late final stages,

the affected individual is completely dependent on their caretakers. By this point, the individual

is no longer able to walk nor speak. Swallowing is nearly impossible thereby subjecting them to

choking risks. The worst part about this stage is that the person usually retains past memories
with friends and family therefore it makes it extremely difficult to grasp the idea of not being

able to communicate nor interact efficiently with others around. So how would gene therapy help

an affected individual? It would help the individual greatly by adding in vivo genes (in vivo

means alive) to the affected region in the brain. What this process would do is present cells with

the proper gene to the damaged region in the brain and allow the genes to cross the blood barrier

and differentiate into a genetically modified microglia cell. These cells can be genetically edited

to transform back into the correct cell thereby correcting the damaged cells around it by releasing

an enzyme to catalyze this reaction. (Piguet 990) This process is complicated and is even more

complicated to explain, however by going through with gene editing, a person who is doomed to

experience a progress decline in their health now has the ability to completely evade this

experience and continue on with a healthy life with the ability to go forth as they please. In short,

gene editing can change the life of person from an absolute hell into a normal, fulfilling life.

Gene Editing and Ethics

After seeing the importance of gene editing from a health care perspective and the

benefits it can bring, comes out the side of this idea that has sparked the most debate when

speaking on the matter, is this ethical? This question has sparked a heated debate in the scientific

community. The two main sides are as follows: First, that it is ethical because the main purpose

behind this research and technology is to prevent genetic disease (Gyngell 499), thereby making

the lives of those affected better. The other side has the argument that by altering genes made by

our own body, we are interfering with natural human evolution and this could lead to even more
problems down the road. (Kozubek) Here we will consider both sides of this argument in order to

see the full picture.

To begin, we will analyze the first side of the argument. In theory, to prevent any form of

disease seems completely ethical. If one had the capability to fix someones main problem in

their life why wouldnt they? According to research, Roughly 6% of all babies born have a

serious birth defect of genetic or partly genetic origin. (Gyngell 499) With an estimated world

population of 7.6 billion, this means approximately 456 million babies have been born with

genetic diseases that greatly affect their daily lives. With this many lives affected, it is definitely

a problem that should be acknowledge and steps should be taken in order to fix them. By

tackling this problem, not only would we enrich the lives of those negatively affected but we

would also learn more about the secrets of human development and the genesis of

disease. (Gyngell 503).

What about the ethical objections pertinent to gene editing? Many people that are aware

of the gene editing topic are worried about the implications of this treatment. The National

Institutes of Health (NIH) has recently adopted a negative stance towards gene editing. (Gyngell

504) The biggest concern scientists have is the safety issues of performing this treatment on

human embryos. Although in theory this treatment sounds like a huge step for mankind in the

pursuit of optimal, we are well aware that as humans we make mistakes. When it involves human

lives, we must take extra precautions to ensure no life is wasted by someones mistake. Our lives

start in the form of an embryo. When we are in this embryonic state, it is possible to determine if

there are genetic deficiencies in our genome. Theoretically gene editing could target these errors

and correct them, the concern lies in the fact that what if we cause an unintended change to the
genome? This is called off-target mutations. Off target mutations could potententially result in

the development of cancer and other pathological disorders. (Gyngell 504) Many scientist

believe we should not alter these genes due to the fact that neurodiversity is what gives us an

advantage as a species to overcome evolutionary roadblocks we could encounter (Kozubek). So

at the end of the day is gene editing ethical or not? It comes down to a personal decision based

on information provided and the individuals ethical perspective.

Gene Editing and Finances

Having considered the benefits, risks, and ethics behind gene editing now lies the final

question, is this all financially possible? According to the European Commission not only is it

possible, it is already being funded! 351 million euros have been invested in 110 projects in the

gene transfer and gene therapy field in the past 5-7 years in order to accelerate this process.

(Gancberg 175). Europe has already begun their research into this beneficial therapy but where

does the United States of America lie in all of this? We have actually begun our research as well!

A $3m Breakthrough Prize in 2014 was awarded to American scientists from the University of

California, Berkeley in order to ensure their efforts and research see results. (CRISPR crunch.

The Economist) From a financial viewpoint, it is feasible to undertake this challenge.

Gene editing is such a new technology that many are unaware or lacking enough

information on it to make an informed decision. In this inquiry paper I tackled the main question

How will gene editing technology affect our future generations? by analyzing the factors that

have an influence on the topic such as finance, ethics, and healthcare. Having examined these

factors I have determined that gene editing is possible and is here to stay. In my opinion it is
beneficial to study this technique in order to benefit the health of the future generations of

humans and ensure that our species thrives for ages to come.
Citations

CRISPR crunch. The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 20 Feb. 2016,

www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21693183-row-over-who-invented-new-
gene-editing-technique-heats-up-crispr-crunch.

Gancberg, David and Ruxandra Draghia-Akli. "Gene and Cell Therapy Funding Opportunities in
Horizon 2020: An Overview for 2014-2015." Human Gene Therapy, vol. 25, no. 3, Mar.
2014, pp. 175-177. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1089/hum.2014.017.

Gyngell, Christopher, et al. "The Ethics of Germline Gene Editing." Journal of Applied
Philosophy, vol. 34, no. 4, Aug. 2017, pp. 498-513. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/japp.
12249.

Harris, John. Pro and Con: Should Gene Editing Be Performed on Human Embryos? National
Geographic, National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/
magazine/2016/08/human-gene-editing-pro-con-opinions/.

Kozubek, Jim. How CRISPR and Gene Editing Could Ruin Human Evolution. Time, Time, 9
Jan. 2017, time.com/4626571/crispr-gene-modification-evolution/.

Piguet, Franoise, et al. "Clinical Gene Therapy for Neurodegenerative Diseases: Past, Present,
and Future." Human Gene Therapy, vol. 28, no. 11, Nov. 2017, pp. 988-1003.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1089/hum.2017.160.