4 ms·
Not sure I agree with the first premise. If the technology was relatively safe and robust you could just routinely "edit" all births with a package of correctio
by Ultimatt 8y ago
Not sure I agree with the first premise. If the technology was relatively safe and robust you could just routinely "edit" all births with a package of corrections for all known rare genetic diseases. There are several hundred well understood variants that are disease causing and correctable with editing a fertilised egg, with essentially zero available treatments later on.
- bencollier49 8y agoWould you correct carriers as well (heterozygous with no symptoms). What about where the gene was advantageous in a heterozygous configuration? Would you eliminate all sickle-cell genes?
- chr1 8y agoThat's not something that you can decide for other people. If some people like their sickle-cell gene no one can force them to remove it, and similarly if they don't like it no one should be able to force them to keep it.
- iguy 8y agoIIRC this has already happened with Tay-Sachs, although not by editing, just by testing (either before marriage, or of embryos). I think the disease is now more common among non-Ashkenazim, who are unlikely to be tested. Seems like a useful test case to think about, and read about, rather than relying only on imagination.