Designer Babies.

AuthorGrise, Chrisanne
PositionSCIENCE - Manipulating human genetics

Scientists are learning to manipulate human genetics. Should we be worried?

What if parents could customize a baby much like choosing a car, selecting attributes like eye color, size, and the ability to run fast?

It sounds like science fiction, but the reality might not be as far off as you think.

In November, He Jiankui, a researcher in China, upended the world of genetics by announcing the first gene-edited babies; he claimed to have altered a gene in the embryos of a pair of twin girls to make them resistant to H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.

His announcement has set off an intense debate among scientists, many of whom see gene editing as a potentially promising avenue for fighting disease but worry that the technology is outpacing considerations of the ethical questions involved in altering human DNA.

"Should such epic scientific misadventures proceed," says Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, "a technology with enormous promise for prevention and treatment of disease will be overshadowed by justifiable public outrage, fear, and disgust."

Scientists have contemplated changing human genes ever since the structure of the DNA molecule was discovered in 1953 (see "Genetic Breakthroughs"). But the invention of a powerful gene-editing technique called Crispr in 2012 sparked a scientific revolution, allowing researchers to edit DNA with unprecedented ease and precision. It has already been used to change some animals' DNA, including that of pigs (making them immune to a virus) and salmon (so they grow faster).

But fearing the technology might be misused, many countries--including the United States--have since placed bans or restrictions on altering the DNA of human embryos. China doesn't have a ban, but a group of 122 Chinese scientists issued a statement denouncing He's experiment.

Despite the condemnation, however, many scientists still believe gene editing could provide health benefits to humans once safety concerns have been worked out. Genetic mutations are linked to about 10,000 medical conditions, including Huntington's disease, some cancers, and some cases of Alzheimer's disease. If scientists could correct those mutations, it would ensure that no future family members would inherit them.

"If you have a way to help families not have a diseased child, then it would be unethical not to do it," says Robin Lovell-Badge, a professor of genetics and embryology at the Francis Crick...

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