What if it was possible to wipe out a disease that has
caused so many lives to perish? Futurism magazine reports 584,000 people have
died and 200 million have suffered from malaria in 2013. Evolutionary ecologist
James Collins from Arizona State University believes scientists have the technology
to wipe out the gene in mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite using the
gene editing technique, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short
palindromic repeats). Specifically, the tool “gene drive”, it will increase the
probability of a certain gene being inherited. Unlike in normal sexual reproduction
where the offspring would inherit a random half of genes from each parent, this
modified offspring would only receive genes the scientist chooses. Ensuring
that the disease is completely eradicated in that population and for all
generations to come.
Altering genes has uplifted controversies throughout
the world. What gives scientists the right to alter another organism? There is
always a possibility for error, such as an organism escaping the laboratory. What
if this error occurs affects us all? Kevin Esvelt, a researcher at Wyss
Institute rebuttals concerns explaining that any premature revealing to the
outside world could be reversed with putting the same organism with altered
genes out into the world. This would then cause the new genes to be inherited
rather than the genes of the accidentally released organism.
I can understand why some would think using the CRISPR goes
against nature, but if it is used to help millions of people I believe that the
world should embrace it. There are obviously risks that must be taken, for example
it should be placed in the right hands and used for good. We do not need
someone getting ahold of this type of technology to spread diseases throughout
animals or people.
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