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CRISPR Gene Editing Fixes Muscular Dystrophy In Dogs, Humans Could Be Next (time.com)
schwit1 shares a report from Time: In a new paper published in Science, researchers led by Eric Olson, professor and chair of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, reported that he and his team successfully used CRISPR to correct the genetic defect responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in four beagles bred with the disease-causing gene. It's the first use of CRISPR to treat muscular dystrophy in a large animal. (Previous studies had tested the technology on rodents.) In varying degrees, the genetic therapy halted the muscle degradation associated with the disease. Duchenne is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, which codes for a protein essential for normal muscle function. People born with the disease are often eventually confined to wheelchairs as their muscles continue to weaken, and in the later stages, many rely on ventilators to breathe as their diaphragm muscles stop working. Eventually, they develop heart and respiratory failure.
Olson and his team "fixed" the mutated dystrophin gene in four dogs by splicing out an offending section of the gene using CRISPR. The gene editing technology, discovered in 2012, can cut out sections of DNA at precise locations (and also potentially introduce new DNA as well). In the case of Duchenne, says Olson, simply snipping out a section of the mutated dystrophin gene allows the gene to make enough of the proper protein that muscles need to function. The hope is that if those animal studies and human trials prove this technique is safe and effective, CRISPR could potentially lead to a cure for Duchenne, Olson says. "We are going for a cure, not a treatment," he says. "All of the other therapies so far for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have treated the symptoms and consequences of the disease. This is going right at the root cause of the genetic mutation."
Olson and his team "fixed" the mutated dystrophin gene in four dogs by splicing out an offending section of the gene using CRISPR. The gene editing technology, discovered in 2012, can cut out sections of DNA at precise locations (and also potentially introduce new DNA as well). In the case of Duchenne, says Olson, simply snipping out a section of the mutated dystrophin gene allows the gene to make enough of the proper protein that muscles need to function. The hope is that if those animal studies and human trials prove this technique is safe and effective, CRISPR could potentially lead to a cure for Duchenne, Olson says. "We are going for a cure, not a treatment," he says. "All of the other therapies so far for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have treated the symptoms and consequences of the disease. This is going right at the root cause of the genetic mutation."
We have the technology to change the mistakes introduced by the random processes of our evolution, so it is our moral imperative to use these tools to fix the diseases affecting humanity. If you are paranoid stick a million samples of human DNA in Svalbard, and another in an orbiting satellite, but everyone should be in favor of these modifications that can transform people's lives from suffering to joy and freedom.
Genetic engineering improved beyond everything Hamilton could have dreamed of.
Gametes = sperm and egg cells. If you're not fixing the genetic defect in those, then this will actually make the situation worse. Previously, people with MD were less likely to reproduce because of the disease (it usually manifests between age 2-15, with most afflicted persons dying by their 20s). That kept the damaged gene sequence relatively rare in the population's gene pool. If we now use gene therapy to remove the negative symptoms of the disease, but without repairing the damaged gene sequence in the gametes, parents with MD will end up passing the disease on to their children. And eventually that sequence will end up spreading throughout the entire population. And we'll end up with a world where the a large percentage of people need this therapy just to have a normal life. According to TFA, this treatment has only been applied to muscle tissue (where the bad gene sequence is needed by the muscles).
People equate death = bad. But if the death results from bad genes, the death is actually good (for the species) because it's functioning to reduce the prevalence of the bad genes from the population's gene pool. What's bad for the individual may be good for the species.
An alternative is to require people receiving this treatment to consent to forced sterilization (there are plenty of kids who need adopting anyway). But sterilization is a touchy subject which encroaches on the abortion debate (you're saying society can override an individual's right to control their own body).
Why are you promoting genocide of leftists?
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