Editing the genome with CRISPR
The gene-editing technology has led to innovations in medicine, evolution and agriculture — and raised profound ethical questions about altering human DNA. In just a decade, CRISPR has become one of the most celebrated inventions in modern biology. It is swiftly changing how medical researchers study diseases: Cancer biologists are using the method to discover hidden vulnerabilities of tumor cells.
Doctors are using CRISPR to edit genes that cause hereditary diseases. But CRISPR’s influence extends far beyond medicine. Plant biologists have edited seeds to produce crops with new vitamins or with the ability to withstand diseases.
The most profound ethical question about CRISPR is how future generations might use the technology to alter human embryos. As CRISPR continues to improve, editing human embryos may eventually become a safe and effective treatment for a variety of diseases.
Researchers used CRISPR to discover a gene that is essential for the growth of certain tumors, for example, and they began a clinical trial of a drug that blocks the gene. Several companies are using CRISPR to try to reverse hereditary diseases (such as Thalassemia, and Sickle cell anemia).
Also, a company in Cambridge is overseeing to use CRISPR to make breeds of soybeans and other crops that use less water and fertilizer. British researchers have used CRISPR to breed a tomato that can produce vitamin D.
Researchers hope to endow babies with resistance to H.I.V. by snipping a piece of a gene called CCR5 from the DNA of embryos. People who naturally carry the same mutation rarely get infected by H.I.V. These studies could potentially lead to new treatments for infertility.
Reference:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/science/crispr-gene-editing-10-years.html?searchResultPosition=3
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