22 May 2015
Disease-free DNA
Our genes define almost everything about us – the good and the bad. If you could alter your genes to prevent an illness, would you? Recently a research team in China has managed to do exactly that. β-thalassaemia is a hereditary blood disorder caused by the mutation of the gene haemoglobin beta, by modifying this gene it’s possible to stop the disease from ever developing. Only unviable human embryos (pictured), which could not result in a live birth, were used in this study – the DNA contained inside the embryos was spliced and repaired using a gene cutting technique known as CRISPR/Cas9. However, the success rate was low, and the trial has now been stopped, but it does indicate a new step towards the eradication of genetic diseases. Clearly this work raises a lot of ethical questions – where do you draw the line with making up our make-up?
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