Posts Tagged ‘Gene Editing’
A Wrong Turn on the Right Path?
An international outcry occurred after Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he and his team had edited human embryos in an attempt to produce children who are resistant to HIV, cholera and smallpox. In this week’s blog post, Dr. Joy Riley explores this topic from an ethical perspective.
Read MoreThe Quality Control of Life
Manufacturing industries routinely do quality control on their products, testing them to be certain the items being produced meet certain specifications. Any flawed products, those that do not meet the required specifications, are discarded. But what if that same mindset were applied to human beings?
Read MoreGenome Editing: Social and Ethical Issues
On July 17, 2018, the Nuffield Council released its report on “Genome Editing and Human Reproduction: Social and Ethical Issues.” The report lists several situations in which genome editing would be desired in order to have a genetically related child who did not have a given condition. Dr. Joy Riley discusses the ethical concerns raised by this report.
Read MoreGene Editing to Make Better Human Beings?
Gene editing has potential for great benefit but also for great evil. In the medical realm, great advances are possible, but this dual-use technology also could be used to design children, weaponize biological agents or even alter or dehumanize our concept of humanity. Dr. David Prentice explores how gene editing can be dangerous for healthcare professionals and their patients in this week’s blog post.
Read MoreThe Three-Parent Child
Imagine the heartache of learning that your new baby will die slowly and painfully before the age of seven, or much sooner, with the same disabling, degenerative disease that killed your last two children. Now, imagine all of this could be prevented by a newly developed technique that a world-renowned physician is willing to perform on your eggs to ensure your child’s good health. Does this sound too good to be true? Dr. Robert Cranston explains the ethical issues surrounding this new procedure.
Read MoreBritish Scientists to Genetically Modify Human Embryos
It remains illegal for these genetically altered embryos to be implanted in a woman. It is hoped the experiments will improve our understanding of the earliest stages of embryo development. The research, which was approved by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, will use excess embryos donated by couples who have had in vitro fertilization treatment.
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