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Gene Editing: Researchers Say Proceed With Caution

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Scientists are working to establish legal and ethical guidelines for gene editing and that was the subject of a summit in Washington D.C., this week.

"It's genetic," is a phrase we hear almost every day in reference to people born with with beauty, intelligence, athletic prowess and even the potential for severe diseases like cancer, Alzheimers, and muscular dystrophy.

But what if genes could be manipulated and a person's genetic code changed and passed-down to future generations? Scientists say that exact technology now exists.

While this new therapy has the potential to reduce human suffering, it could also carry unintended - and foreseeable- consequences.

"It's really important to be clear about what are the positive, potential outcomes and where there is risk of going down a pathway that we will at some point, perhaps regret," explained Francoise Baylis, Professor of Bioethics at Dalhousie University in Canada.

The most recently developed method allows scientists to precisely target abnormal genes inside cells and replace them with healthy ones. It's similar to cut-and-paste computer software and it can be used in reproductive cells. These changes can be passed on to your children and in addition to curing diseases, they can also be used to create so-called "designer babies."

"People start talking about eye color, hair color. Sometimes people start talking about things like memory enhancement or muscle mass and I think we need to be careful about that," said Baylis. "Quite frankly some of that involves very, very complicated science in terms of the numbers of genes you'd have to manipulate, and at least for now that's not the game, so to speak, that's not the target.  The target really is therapeutic interventions. We're looking to try to make a difference in the lives of people who actually have genetic diseases."

Chad Cowan a Harvard University Biologist says it is called germline editing, and while changes might enhance future generations, researchers must be careful.

"It would be difficult to prevent such an experiment from happening, what you can do as a community is set clear guidelines about what would be an acceptable experiment and what would be an unacceptable experiment and to not let those people who perform unacceptable biological experiments get away without some form of regulation or punishment," Cowan said.

The latest gene editing technology has the potential to be done on a wide scale because it can be done in most modern laboratories at a low cost.

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About The Author

Lorie Johnson
Lorie
Johnson

As CBN’s Senior Medical Reporter, Lorie Johnson reports on the latest information about medicine and wellness. Her goal is to provide information that will inspire people to make healthy choices. She joined CBN in 2008 and has interviewed some of the world's leading doctors and researchers from The Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Duke, and more. She kept viewers up to date throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with regular appearances onThe 700 Club, Faith Nation, and Newswatch. She has reported on many ground-breaking medical advancements, including the four-part series, Build a