Human gene editing: a question of ethics.

If you could edit your genome, would you? Should you? Advances in genetic technologies, particularly that of CRISPR-Cas9 (see NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2018 for more information), have been beneficial for the field of gene editing in many non-human organisms (Howard et al. 2018). However, the potential future human applications raise many ethical and legal issues, which are addressed in the article by Howard et al. (2018).

In humans gene editing can take two forms: gene editing in somatic cells – which is beneficial for genetic therapies –, and gene editing of germ lines – which raises controversial issues due to the hereditary implications (Howard et al. 2018). The indirect effects of gene editing on humans, such as that via genetically modified/gene edited organisms and their impact on the environment, are also areas of ethical concern noted by Howard et al. (2018). Whilst there may be benefits to this kind of research there are also a lot of currently unknown, and potentially intergenerational, risks (Howard et al. 2018).

Therefore, whilst technology may soon allow us to alter our (and potentially future generations') genetic information, many questions still remain and need to be considered, such as what cases should it be used for, who should have access to it, how should the effects be monitored, who should be involved in the dialogue and decision-making process, and ultimately should it be allowed (Howard et al. 2018)?

Link to article here.

Howard, H.C., val El, C.G., Forzano, F., Radojkovic, D., Rial-Sebbag, E., de Wert, G., Borry, P., Cornel, M.C., and on behalf of the Public and Professional Policy Committee of the European Society of Human Genetics., 2018. One small edit for humans, one giant edit for humankind? Points and questions to consider for a responsible way forward for gene editing in humans. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 26: 1-11.

NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2018. What are genome editing and CRISPR-Cas9. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/genomeediting Accessed 02/05/18

Image: Thermofisher. Genome editing detection and analysis tools. http://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/genome-editing/genome-editing-detection-analysis.html Accessed: 02/06/18

Victoria Lockwood