Sunday, August 08, 2021

Opinion: How Biomedicine Could Transform Human Reproduction

Recommendable! Prenatal gene editing is an option that ought to be considered! The referenced article below is written by author of the MIT Press book CRISPR People: The Science and Ethics of Editing Humans.

As I wrote before, one of the first genes, if not otherwise relevant, to be permanently removed is the sneezing gene! I am sure, there are other genese, we actually do not need. As a man, I would also strongly advocate to remove the facial hair genes. Shaving is an unnecessary chore. 

I blogged her in 2019, about the possibility of an artificial womb to give birth outside of a human body. I think, it is entirely possible that in 30 years or so from now, women don't have to be pregnant and give birth anymore.

"In November 2018, the world was shocked to learn that two babies had been born in China with DNA edited while they were embryos—as dramatic a development in genetics as the 1996 cloning of Dolly the sheep."

"... Today, bad news from prenatal testing leaves would-be parents with two options: terminate the pregnancy or prepare for the birth of an ill or at-risk child. For over 30 years, parents have been able to avoid this dilemma by turning to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This procedure starts with in vitro fertilization (IVF), but then tests embryos before they are transferred into the uterus. ...
PGD opens yet another door. One might edit the genes of those at-risk embryos, using CRISPR or other methods, before using them to try to start a pregnancy. ...  changing the babies’ DNA in ways they could pass on to their children, because changed cells in the embryo would eventually become eggs or sperm. This argument against heritable changes would also apply when the change is made to correct disease-causing mutations—or when it is used to try to “enhance” the resulting babies. Whether such germline editing should be a “line in the sand,” not to be crossed, is hotly disputed. ...
Most of us look forward to this when it involves disease, while the (distant) prospect of “enhancement” of traits such as height or intelligence causes very mixed feelings.  ...
Now, consider that we may soon be able to make eggs and sperm from stem cells derived from a person’s skin. This technique, which has already worked in mice and is being researched with human cells, offers hope to people who cannot have their own genetic children because they lack functional sperm or eggs, as well as a potential pathway for LGBTQ couples who want to have children who are biologically their own. If the technique becomes an easy source of human eggs, it may also allow people to bypass the uncomfortable, risky, and expensive process of harvesting eggs for IVF, which could lead to a vast expansion of the use of PGD. ...
Finally, in several decades, one might be able to make a living uterus outside the body using stem cells and, by mechanically giving it blood with oxygen, nutrients, and the right hormones, use it to gestate a baby. This not-exactly-artificial womb could transform pregnancy entirely, and with it, the lives of billions of people."

Opinion: How Biomedicine Could Transform Human Reproduction | The Scientist Magazine® CRISPR and other innovations are likely to open up a wealth of new options for how people have children.

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