Comment on Boom in gene-editing studies amid ethics debate over its use

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Business
Fri, 10/09/2015 - 10:00am

Boom in gene-editing studies amid ethics debate over its use

WASHINGTON (AP) — The hottest tool in biology has scientists using words like revolutionary as they describe the long-term potential: wiping out certain mosquitoes that carry malaria, treating genetic diseases like sickle cell, preventing babies from inheriting a life-threatening disorder. Laboratories worldwide are embracing a technology to precisely edit genes inside living cells — turning them off or on, repairing or modifying them — like a biological version of cut-and-paste software. Researchers are building stronger immune cells, fighting muscular dystrophy in mice and growing human-like organs in pigs for possible transplant. There are older methods to edit genes, including one that led to an experimental treatment for the AIDS virus, but the CRISPR technique is faster and cheaper and allows altering of multiple genes simultaneously. Researchers inject a CRISPR-guided molecule into microscopic mouse embryos, to cause a gene mutation that a doctor suspects of causing a patient's mysterious disorder. Experts predict the first attempt to treat people will be for blood-related diseases such as sickle cell, caused by a single gene defect that's easy to reach. Will the research provide a cure while we're still alive?

 

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