SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
[Editors Note: The source article for this story appears to have been extensively edited replacing 'gene line' with 'germ line'. Nevertheless, and bearing that in mind, it is an interesting article.]
Heritable human genetic modifications pose serious risks, and the therapeutic benefits are tenuous, warn Edward Lanphier, Fyodor Urnov and colleagues.
It is thought that studies involving the use of genome-editing tools to modify the DNA of human embryos will be published shortly. There are grave concerns regarding the ethical and safety implications of this research. There is also fear of the negative impact it could have on important work involving the use of genome-editing techniques in somatic (non-reproductive) cells.
In our view, genome editing in human embryos using current technologies could have unpredictable effects on future generations. This makes it dangerous and ethically unacceptable. Such research could be exploited for non-therapeutic modifications. We are concerned that a public outcry about such an ethical breach could hinder a promising area of therapeutic development, namely making genetic changes that cannot be inherited.
http://www.nature.com/news/don-t-edit-the-human-germ-line-1.17111
Would you agree with this assessment? Should this technology be regulated? Once the technique is known, how can we control/monitor what scientists do with this technology?
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday March 17 2015, @06:01PM
Nature is continually finding new ways to harm people. Would you rather have your random allotment of mutations, or a little intentional engineering?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2015, @06:27PM
(1) That random allotment doesn't go away because you've deliberately been mutated
(2) When the full impact of a deliberate mutation is not understood, any side-effects are effectively random.
Its great to have such a hopeful attitude about outcomes, but medical history is full of the downside of such things. Those unintentional side-effects are the entire reason the FDA was created in the first place.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2015, @06:32PM
Let's hope the authors of this scare piece are successful in their somatic gene editing efforts, so they can fix such mistakes.
(Score: 2) by TLA on Tuesday March 17 2015, @07:24PM
One word: Thalidomide.
That is all.
Excuse me, I think I need to reboot my horse. - NCommander