The idea that CRISPR technology can change the world is fantastic and it is indeed exhilarating. The one aspect that I found the most fascinating was the section about the Zika virus, the solution that the scientist propose would be to edit the genes of the mosquitoes so that the ones carrying the virus would be sterile.(National Geographic article, Page 2) This is something that is indeed exhilarating because the eradication of a harmful bug borne disease would be beneficial to humanity as a whole. The negatives are talked about as well, if things go wrong it is almost impossible to reverse because the bugs would be hard to recapture. The negatives are present but the benefits seem to well outweigh the negatives. At least in this situation.
Gene editing should be done in humans, however there should be some restraint. There have been cases throughout humanity where the editing of the genes to try to create more perfect humans. The prime example, would be the Germans in the second world war. However apart from trying to eradicate the “imperfect” humans the idea of gene editing is something that could really benefit the human race. If we as a species were able to edit out simple things like short nearsightedness, or even major things like ALS or Lou Gehrig disease. The possibilities are endless, I believe that humanity has desires to change things for the good, however we must be weary, because some things can go wrong so quickly, like in Germany with their master race. We must proceed with caution, but proceeding will change the world.
First off, I would like to say I enjoyed reading your blog. I agree with you that gene altering in mosquitoes seems to be a great idea. There has been a number of mosquitoes released using CRISPR technology in third world counties that have been successful. The scary thing for me is that it only takes one screw up for everything to go downhill, fast. I do have to disagree with you in gene editing, who’s no say who is smart and not. I’m not saying its playing god but it sure is playing a trick on mother nature. I believe that gene editing has done more bad than good. People live longer but at what cost, more babies live but over population is an consider. No human has been right 100% of the time so how can we rely on humans to make these dissections.