Massive Breakthrough: Could We No Longer Suffer from Genetic Diseases in the Future?
For the first time, researchers have successfully removed a faulty gene that could lead to a heart defect. Will we soon no longer suffer from hereditary diseases?
(Photo: shutterstock)A team of researchers from the USA and South Korea achieved a major breakthrough in genetic medicine yesterday (Wednesday), successfully removing for the first time a faulty gene that could lead to a heart defect from an embryo's genetic sequence. Following the removal of the defective link in the embryo's DNA sequence, the embryo will be healthy and not develop hereditary heart disease later in life.
The genetic defect removed is one of the most common, affecting one in every 500 people. The defect can cause the heart to suddenly stop beating and is caused by an error in a single gene. Any person with the faulty gene has a 50% chance of passing it on to their children.
In an interview with BBC, scientists explained that the procedure could potentially prevent up to 10,000 hereditary diseases by ensuring that individuals carrying the faulty gene do not pass it on to their offspring.
One of the researchers on the team said: "Every generation will now carry this correction, as we have removed this defect from the family's genetic pool. By using this technique, we can ease the burden of hereditary diseases on all of humanity."
The successful experiment raises a variety of ethical questions. "The biggest question, and probably the one around which the most discussions will revolve, is whether we should engage with the genetic sequences of embryos at all," explained one of the researchers, Prof. Darren Griffin. "The answer is not clear, and alongside it arises the question of whether it is moral not to intervene when we have the technology to prevent life-threatening diseases." One scientist has already described the research as 'irresponsible' and a 'race towards the first genetically engineered baby.'
