The most exhilarating example that I read from the text was in the article from National Geographic by Specter and Anthony James dedicating his life’s research to mosquitoes and how CRISPR can allow him to find a way to prevent mosquitos from carrying and spreading diseases. I find this incredibly interesting and exciting because I personally hate mosquitoes with a passion and the fact that they can spread diseases so easily frightens me greatly so with this scientific development slowly advancing, it excites me for the future and to see what scientists list Anthony can do with CRISPR and all the other way it can help out mankind. This example doesn’t really worry me at all just because mosquitos are something that can be easily tested on and if something were to go wrong in experimenting, it would be easy to reverse before putting it into the world and making it any worse than it already is.
Gene editing should be done on humans in certain situations. This technology is unheard of and all the different claims that the scientists are making as to what this technology can do are life changing for everyone. In most circumstances, CRISPR is an amazing scientific feat although there are few scenarios that may be taking the power of this technology too far, when used in the right ways for the right reasons, CRISPR will advance our medicine immensely.
Great post! I strongly agree that research on mosquito genes is very exciting. It’s a great example of how useful and versatile CRISPR technology is and how it can be used to help mankind. Similarly, I found the use of CRISPR technology as an alternative to pesticides for crops to also be exciting and can be an effective way to reduce environmental damage from using pesticides on crops. I also agree that CRISPR can be frightening, not only for its use on humans but for all life. While CRISPR technology can be used for good and prevent disease, I worry it could also be used to spread disease. As the article states, while it may be an exaggeration to say CRISPR technology is a weapon of mass destruction it also advises caution as a future where everyday households are allowed access to CRISPR technology may not be far off.