The dangers of genome editing have long been espoused in science fiction and popular culture, from the terror of the exotic dinosaur adventure lands of Jurassic Park to the somber caste system of the genetically divergent in Gattaca. From a cultural perspective, humans’ knack for technological innovation wildly outpaces traditional evolutionary processes, such as gene flow and natural selection. Within one generation of human life, almost the entire species views and interacts with the world differently due to the Internet. From a biological perspective, the concept of editing the germ line of the human genome to irreversibly affect human evolution could potentially move at a similarly unpredictable pace which is quite worrisome to many scientists and ethicists.
There have been many regulations regarding modification of human genes, whether it be for gene therapy or more complex gene manipulation that could have unforeseeable consequences. Within the past few years, a scientist from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China by the name of He Jiankui has been accused of being the first to edit the germ line of a human fetus. Jiankui had recruited couples with HIV-positive fathers to become subjects in his experiment. He used CRISPR technology to essentially turn off the gene that creates the immune surface protein CCR5. HIV uses CCR5 to establish an infection (The Untold Story of the ‘Circle of Trust’ behind the World’s First Gene-Edited Babies | Science | AAAS, n.d.). This gene manipulation would be passed down to offspring if successful. Once two healthy twin girls were born after allegedly undergoing this procedure, the controversy reached the international level. Consequently, Jiankui was fired from his position at SUSTech and ridiculed by the scientific community, often being called “a rogue scientist” and “China’s Frankenstein (The Untold Story of the ‘Circle of Trust’ behind the World’s First Gene-Edited Babies | Science | AAAS, n.d.).
This event brings to light the international regulation and ethical standpoint on human gene editing. Prior to Jiankui’s experiment, a committee within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) stated that human germline editing “might be permitted” if strict criteria were met (The Untold Story of the ‘Circle of Trust’ behind the World’s First Gene-Edited Babies | Science | AAAS, n.d.). Notably, the committee did not insist on making strict ethical guidelines or bans and instead suggested the issue be controlled by individual countries. This being said, ethical regulations and chains of command vary greatly across countries. For example, the United States has the Office for Research Integrity, yet many other countries have no government-wide regulatory agencies for cases such as these (Cyranoski, 2019). Therefore, many of those working for and with Jiankui have said that they did not know how to act in formal opposition to the experiment. Jiankui also told several academic peers, including 3 at Stanford University and Nobel-prize winner Craig Mello, about his plans to follow through with the experiment but was met with no formal intervention (Cyranoski, 2019).
The fallout of this experiment could have wide implications to the world of genome editing. As of January 2019, Jiankui was censured by the Guangdong health ministry. On March 18, 2019 A WHO committee met to set guidelines for human gene editing (Cyranoski, 2019). By December 2019, Jiankui was sentenced to three years in prison for “illegal medical practice” by a court in Shenzhen, China (Scientist He Jianku Sentenced to Three Years for Creating CRISPR’d Babies, n.d.). The future of human gene editing has much left in store. Unless strict scientific guidelines are set in stone, it is likely such experiments that push the bounds of modern science will continue unchecked. International guidelines must be created to ensure the long-term health of the human species.
References
Cyranoski, D. (2019). The CRISPR-baby scandal: What’s next for human gene-editing. Nature, 566(7745), 440–442. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00673-1
Scientist He Jianku sentenced to three years for creating CRISPR’d babies. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2021, from https://www.statnews.com/2019/12/30/he-jiankui-who-created-worlds-first-crisprd-babies-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-illegal-medical-practice/
The untold story of the ‘circle of trust’ behind the world’s first gene-edited babies | Science | AAAS. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2021, from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/untold-story-circle-trust-behind-world-s-first-gene-edited-babies