Interventions to make heritable changes to the human genome are fraught with uncertainties. There are legitimate concerns about using a still imperfect technology that can rewrite the very blueprint of life. Also, the debate on whether it’s ethical to do so is far from being settled. However, would-be baby tinkerers around the world have failed to get the message
Twins Lulu and Nana were born famous. They are the pseudonyms of the world’s first genetically edited babies. And if they become the subjects of the medical as well as the journalistic community then they will remain prisoners of their fame for as long as they live. The twin sisters are outliers who risk the chance of never experiencing the beauty of an anonymous life. Chinese scientist He Jiankui—a biophysicist at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China— announced the result of his experiment on November 26, 2018, in an exclusive interview to the Associated Press. The experiment using the simple yet powerful technology CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) has, in just a few years, shaken the scientific community with its medical potential and ethicists for fear of its abuse.
“The implications go beyond just these twins,” Kiran Musunuru, professor of cardiovascular medicine and genetics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine told Time magazine. “If we talk about the sanctity of human life, and the inherent dignity of human life, not much has been gained here. These babies were treated as subjects in a grand medical experiment, and we have to believe that they will be studied for the rest of their lives; it’s sad actually.”
Denne historien er fra August 01, 2019-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra August 01, 2019-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.