The Ethics of CRISPR & The Perfect Human | Doha Debates

00:05:49
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xkpu72AF_k

Resumen

TLDRCRISPR technology allows precise DNA editing, offering potential solutions to genetic diseases and enabling modifications in plants, animals, and humans. It's a powerful tool that can decrease hereditary conditions and enhance certain traits but presents significant ethical dilemmas. These include the potential for genetic enhancements that could lead to social inequities and unforeseen consequences across generations. The difference between somatic and germline editing lies in the former affecting only the individual while the latter impacts future generations. While CRISPR promises great advances, it raises questions about consent for future generations and could exacerbate inequalities. The technology isn't flawless and may bear long-term risks, such as triggering cancer. Right now, it’s crucial to reflect on the permissible boundaries for its applications.

Para llevar

  • 💉 CRISPR enables precise DNA editing, offering breakthroughs in genetic treatment.
  • ⚙️ It works by cutting specific DNA sequences using Cas9 protein.
  • 🌿 Applications include disease-resistant crops and animals, and potentially resurrecting extinct species.
  • 🔬 Human trials target conditions like HIV and cancer but raise ethical concerns.
  • 🤔 Germline editing could affect generations, prompting moral and social questions.
  • 🧬 Genetic enhancements could deepen economic and social divides.
  • ⚠️ CRISPR is not perfect, with risks including errors causing cancer.
  • 🔍 Future gene-editing policies need cautious development to prevent inequality.
  • 📚 It's vital to balance technological promise with ethical responsibility.
  • 🧪 Ongoing discourse is crucial as this technology evolves.

Cronología

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:49

    The video discusses the potential of CRISPR technology, a tool for editing DNA, to make significant changes in human genetics. It begins by posing ethical questions about altering DNA to prevent diseases or selecting physical traits like eye color or height. CRISPR works by using proteins to snip specific DNA sequences, allowing for gene editing which is cheap and accessible. This technology has been used to treat genetic deafness, create malaria-resistant mosquitoes, and more. While promising for combatting diseases, its use in editing human embryos has sparked ethical concerns and controversy, specifically around germline editing, which alters DNA permanently for future generations. Such editing can lead to socioeconomic disparities, pose ethical dilemmas, and has unpredictable long-term effects, including potential risks like cancer or tumours in edited individuals. The video underscores the importance of ethical considerations and societal consensus as gene-editing technology develops.

Mapa mental

Vídeo de preguntas y respuestas

  • What is CRISPR?

    CRISPR is a gene-editing technology that allows scientists to alter DNA sequences and modify gene functions.

  • How does CRISPR work?

    CRISPR works by using a protein called Cas9, which can cut specific sequences of DNA. Scientists then add replacement genetic code to edit the genome.

  • What are the potential uses of CRISPR?

    CRISPR can be used to eliminate genetic disorders, create disease-resistant plants and animals, and has the potential to bring back extinct species.

  • What ethical concerns does CRISPR raise?

    CRISPR raises ethical questions about genetic enhancement, consent from future generations, and potential social and economic divisions.

  • What is the difference between somatic and germline gene editing?

    Somatic gene editing alters non-reproductive cells and does not affect offspring, whereas germline editing changes reproductive cells, affecting future generations.

  • Have there been any controversial uses of CRISPR?

    Yes, in 2018, Chinese scientists edited embryos to be HIV-resistant, leading to public outcry and imprisonment of those involved.

  • What are the risks associated with CRISPR?

    Risks include unintended genetic mutations, potential initiation of tumors or cancer, and long-term impacts that are not fully understood.

  • Is gene-editing technology available to everyone?

    Currently, gene-editing technology may only be accessible to those who can afford it, potentially worsening social and economic inequality.

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Desplazamiento automático:
  • 00:00:00
    - If you could get a tiny injection
  • 00:00:02
    that could prevent your child from getting cancer,
  • 00:00:06
    would you do it?
  • 00:00:07
    OK, what about - whilst you're at it,
  • 00:00:11
    you could also choose their eye color,
  • 00:00:13
    or their height, or their skin tone?
  • 00:00:17
    Where would you draw the line?
  • 00:00:24
    We might be several decades away
  • 00:00:26
    from making those types of decisions,
  • 00:00:28
    but the technology that would allow us to edit DNA,
  • 00:00:33
    that's already here. It's called CRISPR.
  • 00:00:38
    Every living thing is composed of its DNA.
  • 00:00:42
    So CRISPR could be used to control what genes get expressed,
  • 00:00:45
    or delete undesirable traits in any plant, animal or human.
  • 00:00:51
    OK, here's how it works:
  • 00:00:52
    Scientists have learned how to engineer a protein
  • 00:00:57
    that can cut out specific sequences of code
  • 00:01:01
    out of DNA strands.
  • 00:01:04
    The protein is called Cas9.
  • 00:01:06
    It uses a strand of RNA code
  • 00:01:09
    to tell it exactly what to snip.
  • 00:01:11
    The code is like a mug shot -
  • 00:01:13
    only an exact match with the DNA sequence will do.
  • 00:01:18
    Then scientists add in replacement code, and ta da!
  • 00:01:22
    You've edited a genome.
  • 00:01:25
    It is cheap, quick and easy - seriously. Right,
  • 00:01:29
    if you've got access to a lab, it costs just $75,
  • 00:01:33
    takes a few hours and a high schooler can do it.
  • 00:01:38
    It's already been used to reduce genetic deafness in mice,
  • 00:01:42
    make mushrooms that don't brown easily,
  • 00:01:44
    and scientists are even trying to make mosquitoes
  • 00:01:47
    that can't give you malaria.
  • 00:01:49
    It could potentially be used to bring back extinct species,
  • 00:01:53
    like the passenger pigeon, or the woolly mammoth.
  • 00:01:57
    And that's not all, CRISPR is also being used
  • 00:02:01
    in human clinical trials, particularly to treat things
  • 00:02:05
    like blood diseases, HIV and even cancer.
  • 00:02:10
    Scientists in China made headlines in 2018
  • 00:02:14
    when they claimed to have edited the DNA
  • 00:02:17
    of three human embryos to be HIV-resistant.
  • 00:02:22
    And while this broke through new barriers,
  • 00:02:24
    the public backlash was swift and fierce.
  • 00:02:28
    And three Chinese scientists, they were sent to prison.
  • 00:02:33
    Many of CRISPR's creators have called
  • 00:02:36
    for a moratorium on editing sperm, eggs and embryos.
  • 00:02:42
    Their concern is that we're on a slippery ethical slope.
  • 00:02:48
    Editing the genome code of someone alters their DNA,
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    but that change dies with them.
  • 00:02:54
    This is called somatic gene editing.
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    Editing the genome code of a sperm cell, egg, or embryo
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    is called germline gene editing,
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    and it means that the change will pass on
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    to all of the affected person's offspring,
  • 00:03:09
    and their offspring's offspring, and so on.
  • 00:03:12
    This could have tremendous benefits.
  • 00:03:15
    It could quickly and cheaply
  • 00:03:17
    wipe out devastating hereditary diseases,
  • 00:03:21
    but it also raises some serious ethical questions.
  • 00:03:25
    For one, future generations can't consent
  • 00:03:29
    to having their genes altered.
  • 00:03:31
    And then what happens if, and when, gene-editing technology
  • 00:03:36
    goes beyond simply tackling diseases?
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    For instance, studies show that attractive people
  • 00:03:43
    tend to earn more money.
  • 00:03:44
    Surely some parents would want
  • 00:03:46
    to pick and choose the genetic attributes
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    that would give their children a leg up in life.
  • 00:03:52
    This kind of editing is called genetic enhancement,
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    and the line between gene enhancement
  • 00:03:58
    and curing diseases can get really murky, really fast.
  • 00:04:03
    This kind of elective procedure,
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    it's only going to be accessible to the people
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    that can afford it, and that,
  • 00:04:10
    that could deepen social, economic, even racial divisions.
  • 00:04:18
    Now let's zoom out even further.
  • 00:04:21
    We have no idea what kind of long-term impact
  • 00:04:24
    these genetic fixes could have down the line.
  • 00:04:28
    Gene editing isn't 100% accurate.
  • 00:04:32
    Any mistakes made now will affect many generations to come.
  • 00:04:37
    Some CRISPRed cells can initiate tumors, or trigger cancer.
  • 00:04:43
    And parents do not want to pass those traits
  • 00:04:46
    down to their kids.
  • 00:04:48
    But right now, doctors are already
  • 00:04:50
    performing prenatal screenings to ensure the health
  • 00:04:54
    of an embryo for in-vitro fertilization,
  • 00:04:58
    so what are we going to screen for in the future?
  • 00:05:03
    Gene-editing technology is on the cusp
  • 00:05:06
    of drastically affecting humanity.
  • 00:05:09
    It brings great promise in the form of reducing
  • 00:05:12
    or eliminating many diseases.
  • 00:05:15
    On the flip side, it could also shrink the human gene pool,
  • 00:05:18
    widen socioeconomic divisions
  • 00:05:21
    and have exponential consequences for future generations.
  • 00:05:26
    Gene-editing technology hasn't reached that level yet,
  • 00:05:31
    which is why now is the time
  • 00:05:34
    to collectively decide what we should do.
Etiquetas
  • CRISPR
  • DNA editing
  • gene therapy
  • ethical issues
  • genetic enhancements
  • somatic editing
  • germline editing
  • disease eradication
  • social equity
  • long-term risks