The future for eliminating biological illnesses and helping reduce the growing problem of instinct animals is here and it’s called CRISPR. This new technology acts as a scissor to cut certain DNA strands off the DNA sequence. But with such a great and promising invention, it could have its drawbacks of unknown consequences. Michael Specter highlights certain animals and problems that could benefit from CRISPR technology. One animal that he thinks that could benefit from CRISPR technology is the Black Footed Ferret. The Black Footed Ferret has faced extinction multiple times and we thought they went extinct multiple times. In Specters writing, he says that CRISPR technology can address two immediate problems facing the Black Footed Ferret. The first is the lack of food for the ferrets. The Black Footed Ferret main diet is the Prairie Dog. Recently the Prairie Dogs population as taken a huge decline because of a disease called the Sylvatic Plague. By using the CRISPR technology they could make the Black Footed ferret immune to the Sylvatic Plague. The other immediate problem is Lyme Disease. Just like trying to eliminate the Sylvatic Plague, CRISPR would make the Ferrets immune to Lyme Disease.
I think using CRISPR technologies on humans could help major problems humans face today. This could quite possibly help in the advancement in helping eliminate biological inherited diseases down in offsprings, this would eliminate certain deadly diseases for future generations. “… CRISPR could be used to modify disease causing genes in embryos brought to term, removing the faulty script from the genetic code of that person’s future descendants as well.” (Harris pg. 1)