That magic word " Progress " means different things to different people. Work on the human genome is making it possible to screen out diseases that are passed from parents to offspring, but it also opens up a range of troubling possibilities that will raise ethics questions.
The IVF process allows a form of screening for genetic defects but Crispr-Cas9 - which is known as Crispr - works on RNA, a chemical messenger involving human DNA. In short, it allows unprecedented simplicity, speed and precision in snipping out unwanted genes and pasting in new ones in their place.
To some, this must seem like the " Holy Grail " - the ability to ensure that our children are free of diseases such as cystic fibrosis and later stage dementia, but it also introduces the ability to edit human DNA to create a " made to order baby ". In families of short stature it would be possible to tweak the DNA to produce tall, strapping offspring or edit in desirable characteristics of eye and hair colour.
This opens up new territory. Medical science now has a way of putting cancer hunting genes into a patient's gene system and virtually building a disease proof person, but we also should respect Newton's law. To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction ! When we start sorting out DNA to achieve some results we are likely to trigger " unintended consequences " - of a potentially disastrous nature !
There is also the aspect of how Crispr will be used in the veterinary and horticultural field. The whole of life consists of DNA and now we are the masters capable of altering it to our needs and specifications a host of chilling possibilities emerge. It seems certain to be used to enhance the profitability of farmed animals and by snipping off DNA and replacing with paste-ons it could result in the creation of an entirely new animal.
Perhaps we are on the cusp of breeding mosquito's that lack the ability of passing on Malaria ! But scientists and geneticists in the defence and armament industries could also see DNA modification as a means of waging war by adding a new component to a nation's natural insect species.
Just imagine if the bees in a target country had aggression added to their DNA, coupled with the ability to spread a deadly disease such an Anthrax. The world of science fiction comes ever closer, and unfortunately what is possible usually eventually becomes reality. We are opening a Pandora's Box with this Crispr breakthrough !
No doubt professional associations will put limits on how this may be used, but that relies on a form of ethics that are impossible to fully control. There are always scientists who refuse to accept limitations, and some countries are lax in what they will allow if they think breaking the rules will deliver them a competitive edge.
It looks like humanity is fast resembling the way we construct documents on our computers using the cut and paste system to arrange the work to our satisfaction. What troubles many is the absolute certainty that a decade from now our sphere of knowledge will have expanded exponentially - and Crispr will probably be considered " quaint " !
Thoughtful folk look to the future with a mixture of hope - and dread !
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