CRISPR Horror: Scientists To Edit DNA In Human Sperm POSTED BY: ROB STEIN AUGUST 23, 2019
ZitatTechnocrat purist Gianpiero Palermo states, “If we can wipe out a particular gene, it would be incredible… theoretically, in principal, this would be a major, major benefit to society.” Um, like wiping out humanity? ⁃ TN Editor
First it was human embryos. Now scientists are trying to develop another way to modify human DNA that can be passed on to future generations, NPR has learned.
Reproductive biologists at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City are attempting to use the powerful gene-editing technique called CRISPR to alter genes in human sperm. NPR got exclusive access to watch the controversial experiments underway.
The research is aimed at finding new ways to prevent disorders caused by genetic mutations that are passed down from men — including some forms of male infertility. The team is starting with a gene that can increase the risk for breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancers.
The experiments are just starting and have not yet been successful. But the research raises many of the same hopes — and fears — as editing the DNA of human embryos. Nevertheless, the researchers defend the work.
“I think it’s important from the scientific point of view to investigate in an ethical manner to be able to learn if it’s possible,” says Gianpiero Palermo, a professor of embryology in obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine, who runs the lab where the work is being conducted.
During a recent visit to Palermo’s Andrology Laboratory at Weill Cornell’s Center for Reproductive Medicine, NPR witnessed an experiment attempting to edit a single gene in sperm.
“If we can wipe out a particular gene, it would be incredible,” Palermo says. “Theoretically, in principal, this would be a major, major benefit to society.”
Other scientists who are not involved in the research agree. One of the main goals is to try to understand and possibly prevent male infertility caused by genetic mutations.
“Male infertility is a very common condition,” says Kyle Orwig, a professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “And there are some diseases that are incredibly devastating to families. And for those diseases, for me, if you could get rid of it, why wouldn’t you get rid of it?”
But others say editing DNA in sperm raises the same troubling questions as editing DNA in embryos. Would it ever be safe to make babies that way? Would it open the door to someone someday trying to make “designer babies”? Should scientists be trying to tinker with the human gene pool in ways that could affect generations to come?
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re manipulating the embryo or you’re manipulating the sperm,” says Françoise Baylis, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University in Canada, who is advising the World Health Organization about gene editing.
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it."- Fredric Bastiat
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Single Gene Edit To Human Embryos Sees Disturbing Unintended Consequences POSTED BY: KATHRYN KRAWCZYK JUNE 17, 2020
ZitatTechnocrat and Transhuman geneticists who would like to create Humanity 2.0, still don’t have a clue about the complexity and intricacy of the human genome. One opposing scientist says, “This is a restraining order for all genome editors to stay the living daylights away from embryo editing.” ⁃ TN Editor
A human embryo editing experiment gone wrong has scientists warning against treading into the field altogether.
To understand the role of a single gene in early human development, a team of scientists at the London-based Francis Crick Institute removed it from a set of 18 donated embryos. Even though the embryos were destroyed after just 14 days, that was enough time for the single edit to transform into “major unintended edits,” OneZero reports.
Human gene editing is a taboo topic — the birth of two genetically modified babies in 2018 proved incredibly controversial, and editing embryos beyond experimentation is not allowed in the U.S. The scientists in London conducted short-term research on a set of 25 donated embryos, using the CRISPR technique to remove a gene from 18 of them. An analysis later revealed 10 of those edited embryos looked normal, but that the other eight revealed “abnormalities across a particular chromosome,” OneZero writes. Of them, “four contained inadvertent deletions or additions of DNA directly adjacent to the edited gene,” OneZero continues.
The unintended edits exemplify the single biggest concern of gene editing, especially when it involves humans. And to Fyodor Urnov, a gene-editing expert and professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, it sends a clear message: “This is a restraining order for all genome editors to stay the living daylights away from embryo editing.”
The results of this experiment were published in the preprint server bioRxiv, which has yet to be peer reviewed and published in a medical journal. Read more at OneZero.
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it."- Fredric Bastiat
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.- Orwell
And we're supposed to believe that the end purpose of this gene editing is to remove male infertility from the gene pool?
That's so absurd! The gene-editing only affects those who submit to the procedure.
They're trying to create enhanced and altered traits in humans. The old dream of a super race!
They've just begun with the decoy of eradicating male infertility as the enviable excuse. TM
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Quote: ThirstyMan wrote in post #3And we're supposed to believe that the end purpose of this gene editing is to remove male infertility from the gene pool?
That's so absurd! The gene-editing only affects those who submit to the procedure.
They're trying to create enhanced and altered traits in humans. The old dream of a super race!
They've just begun with the decoy of eradicating male infertility as the enviable excuse. TM
Amen !
Plus dual use would allow creating sterility to limit the number of pesky humans.
In a sane society these people would be locked away as a danger to themselves and society !
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it."- Fredric Bastiat
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.- Orwell
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CRISPR Horror: Scientists To Edit DNA In Human Sperm
