ARE WE READY TO PLAY GOD?
The recent discovery of the CRISPR gene-editing tool puts huge power in scientists’ hands
Humans had better be ready to play God. Because we’ve now got the tools to do just that.
Credit the recent discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, a powerful geneediting tool that gives scientists the ability to make precise edits of single strands of DNA. Other so-called “molecular scissors” had already been developed, but they were very costly and timeconsuming to implement. The emergence of CRISPR has put genomics exploration into overdrive with quick, precise and cheap tools, sending science on a fast track to new discoveries.
CRISPR could be used to erase and replace mutations that make some susceptible to a wide range of conditions, from AIDS to the Zika virus. Healthier, more resilient farm animals, pets, fruits and vegetables are also in the hopper.
Billions of dollars are being poured into CRISPR research, precisely because the possibilities are seemingly endless. Start-ups have sprouted around CRISPR pioneers, including CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, eGenesis, Intellia Therapeutics and Synthego. Last year, three of them went public, each IPO resulting in valuations in excess of $500 million.
Earlier this month, Harvard University researchers revealed that they actually used CRISPR to etch a motion GIF of a galloping horse into the DNA of living bacteria. Not exactly a cure for cancer, to be sure. Though it does raise some intriguing possibilities for using DNA to store non-genetic data, like a built-in human flash drive. As well, the demonstration does serve as a good illustration for just how much editing prowess CRISPR affords.
Laboratory fun aside, keeping a lid on CRISPR will be paramount, as it is just as potent a tool for evil as it is for good. CRISPR could potentially pave the way for bad actors on the world stage to develop, say, chemical weapons alongside super-soldiers resistant to them.
Such doomsday scenarios keep some scientists up at night, in much the same way that Albert Einstein fretted over the shape of our future in a nuclear world. Indeed, effectively locking down CRISPR technology to prevent catastrophe could become as crucial to our own survival as the cures it spawns.
And we haven’t even touched on the ever-present fear of the unintended consequences of going where no man has gone before. What if, say, the Harvard researchers inadvertently created a deadly, drug-resistant, motherof-all mutant bacteria with their artistic demonstration? That issue came to the fore in late May — not with horses, but with mice.
Two blind mice, in fact. In 2015, researchers successfully restored the mice’s sight using CRISPR to repair a gene mutation that causes blindness. In a follow-up study, disclosed May 30 in a letter to the editor of a health journal, researchers found hundreds of unintended mutations throughout the mice’s genome. The researchers noted that the mice did not exhibit any ill effects as a result.
The news spooked investors, who sent shares of the publicly-traded CRISPR stocks downward. As well, it also spurred some observers to wonder aloud whether we are ready to handle our newfound godlike powers.
The news didn’t concern many scientists, however. Most of them understand the process of discovery is rarely a straight line. And bumps in the road like the errant mutations found in the follow-up study are all part of the journey. Some even assert that many of the mutations wouldn’t occur today, because the circa-2015 CRISPR tools the researchers used are as outmoded as VCRs. They feel confident that, by the time you head to the doctor for some gene-editing to wipe away your ailments, they’ll have it all ironed out.
Mike Feibus is principal analyst at FeibusTech, a Scottsdale, Ariz., market strategy and analysis firm focusing on mobile ecosystems and client technologies. Reach him at mikef@feibustech.com or on Twitter @MikeFeibus.
Locking down CRISPR technology to prevent catastrophe could become as crucial to our own survival as the cures it spawns.