Crossing the DNA Rubicon.docVIP

Crossing the DNA Rubicon 　　Is it possible for humans to wall off a branch of knowledge that is deemed too dangerous， risky or formidable to pursue？ That is what James Burke， the science historian， asked in his 1985 documentary series， The Day the Universe Changed. In light of a powerful new technology that is revolutionizing the field of modern genetics， Burkes challenge is fresh on the minds of scientists across the world. 　　In April 2015， Huang Junjiu and his team at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou published the results of their experiments in which， for the first time in history， human embryos had been genetically modified. As a result of the ferocious international debate over the ethical implications that the experiments had sparked， Huang has since declined any interviews with the media. 　　In his work， Huang sought to modify the genes responsible for the serious blood disorder beta-thalassemia. Huang used a technology called Crispr-Cas9 on embryos unable to result in live births. Nonetheless， the results were mixed， and not viable for effective treatment at present. 　　Since then， scientists have in the United Kingdom applied for a license to carry out experiments on human embryos. According to January 13 Reuters article， Kathy Niakan， a stem cell scientist from Londons Francis Crick Institute， would use Crispr-Cas9 in an attempt to improve infertility treatments， stating that “the only way we can understand human biology at this early stage is by further studying human embryos directly.” 　　The use of Crispr-Cas9 has provided scientists with the ability to edit genes with great precision， ease， and relative cheapness―setting it apart from previous gene-editing technology that was expensive and cumbersome in comparison. 　　The editing of genes that can be inherited， a technique known as germline modification， could also set the stage for the move from therapeutic modifications to human enhancements. From being able to change the color of your eyes， your