Precision Gene Editing 128
mpthompson writes "NewScientist.com is reporting that scientists at Sangamo Biosciences have developed a method of editing DNA mutations with unprecedented precision without weaving in potentially harmful foreign genetic material. Different combinations of amino acids are designed to latch on and cut the DNA at exactly the place where the mutated gene lies. This triggers the body's natural repair process which corrects the gene where the DNA was cut. The technique will be used to target diseases caused by single-gene mutations such as combined immune deficiency (X-SCID) - or bubble boy disease - and sickle cell anaemia."
Re:I don't care what they say.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's just not forget that there is not such thing as evil knowledge. The way we use it makes good or evil.
Re:I don't care what they say.. (Score:2, Insightful)
I only agree partially... (Score:5, Insightful)
I know people who are geneticists, and who work in a lab where they are able to essentially make a mouse to order. You want one that grooms obsessively, here you go! Want one that glows in the dark? You got it. Just because they do it through genetic manipulation rather than breeding doesn't make it any more evil than other means.
What it does do is accelerate our ability to learn about life. Should we take things in measured steps? Absolutely! We should also have been more careful about asbestos, lead based paint, DDT, agent orange and more. But should we ignore these amazing advances? Absolutely not!
Re:I don't care what they say.. (Score:2, Insightful)
On a related note, this kind of attitude is precisely why scientific progress often stagnates. Irrational fear hinders societal good. Messing up a few times, as cold and calculating as this might sound, may be necessary in order to develop effective medicines and therapies and pinpoint options that do not work. The individuals who sign up for clinical trials are aware of the risks, and those who do should be applauded for their selfless contribution to the good of humanity.
Regardless of your personal beliefs, gene therapy is one of the most promising developments in medicine. It has the potential to revolutionize our perceptions of the human body.
Re:I don't care what they say.. (Score:4, Insightful)
As time goes on, we defeat simple diseases such as the bubonic plague, then upgrade to tougher ones like smallpox. We're now at the point where the only communicable diseases that are seriously fatal are biologically engineered bacteria, and viruses. On top of that, we've still got Cancer to worry about, which is kicking our asses.
While it may be cheaper to produce drugs for everyone alive and distribute them to everyone, no company in their right minds would do this. But if we could figure out genetically how to teach our immune systems to deal with cancer, and certain foreign invaders, we could save millions simply by changing our children's genes.
I think the biggest paranoia attributed to genetic engineering is the fear of change; just because we know how something works now, and we assume that it'll continue working the same way into the future, we give up the notion that we can change things for the better or for the worse. Yes, we are foulable creatures, but at the same time, we now know how to clean up our mistakes. It's far past time we take our fates into our own hands. Why use medicines that can screw up other things in our bodies when we can simply prevent the problem from occuring naturally?
Mutations... (Score:4, Insightful)
I think there is a natural equilibrium between nature and gene mutations. When the hand of man starts changing one side of the equation, can the consequences on the otherside be foreseen? For example, who is to say that some form of cancer today won't mutate to something 1,000 years from now that will save humanity from some enviormental change?
Good luck getting medical industry to fund this (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Mutations... (Score:2, Insightful)
To answer your question, think of sickle-cell anemia. One copy of the gene, and you're resistant to malaria (but not immune, i.e. it simply kills you more slowly). Two copies, and you have sickle-cell anemia, and die early. The benefit of the gene outweighs the risk only as long as you don't have effective treatments for malaria. If you have good control of malaria, then it's better that you don't have that gene at all, as the net effect is deleterious.
We can't be sure of all of the ramifications, so we should make backups of anything we delete (CVS for your genes, so to speak), but in the end if we can short-circuit the process of better adapting ourselves to our environment, then we should do it.
A thousand years ago, genes that helped you resist smallpox and survive poorly fed winters were essential. Now, genes that coded for better DNA repair and reduced fat synthesis/uptake would be a better adaptation. We can wait for them to arise naturally (teenagers start keeling over from hardening of the arteries due to our first-world diet before they can reproduce), or we can engineer them, and introduce them into volunteers.