CRISPR: The science behind gene-edited 'designer babies'

Summary

In this episode, Global News delves into the controversial world of CRISPR and gene editing, exploring the groundbreaking yet contentious developments surrounding 'designer babies.' The video discusses the first gene-edited babies created by Chinese scientist He Jiankui, using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to modify embryos for HIV resistance. This scientific advancement sparked global debates due to the distinction between germline and somatic editing, raising ethical concerns over heritable gene modifications. With CRISPR's vast potential beyond designer babies, including advancements in agriculture and personalized cancer treatments, the episode emphasizes the ongoing ethical conversations necessary as scientists navigate this powerful technology.

Highlights

• He Jiankui used CRISPR to create twins with edited DNA for HIV resistance, sparking global debate. 🔬
• CRISPR-Cas9 acts like scissors, editing DNA with precision, but its use in humans is controversial. ✂️
• Germline editing is controversial because changes are heritable, affecting future generations. 📜
• CRISPR isn't only about designer babies—it's being used in agriculture and cancer treatments to enhance human life. 🌿

Key Takeaways

• Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world by creating gene-edited babies using CRISPR-Cas9. 🍼
• CRISPR allows precise editing of DNA but raises significant ethical concerns, especially with germline editing. 🌱
• The debate about the use of CRISPR technology in humans is ongoing, highlighting its ethical implications. 🚨
• CRISPR technology has applications beyond designer babies, such as in agriculture and cancer research. 🌾

Overview

Remember when you used to dream about the future with designer babies and flying cars? Well, Global News is here to tell you that the future might be closer than you think. In 2018, scientist He Jiankui created a storm by announcing the birth of the first CRISPR-edited babies. Lulu and Nana were given edited DNA to resist HIV, and this announcement sent shockwaves through the scientific community. The technique used, CRISPR-Cas9, is a powerful tool that can precisely edit genes like cutting and pasting text in a document.

But hold on—a significant ethical debate has arisen over CRISPR's application in humans. The crux of the controversy lies in 'germline editing,' where DNA changes can be passed through generations, altering the very fabric of humankind. Critics argue it's not just a leap in science but also a tripwire into uncharted moral territory. So, while we have this incredible power at our fingertips, the question remains: how should we wield it?

Beyond the drama of designer babies, CRISPR's real-world applications are already making a difference. Scientists are using it to engineer healthier crops and tailor personalized cancer treatments, showing CRISPR's potential to revolutionize sectors far from the nursery. The tool's versatility is incredible, and it's clear that humanity must tread carefully and thoughtfully as we embark on this next frontier. Let's make sure the questions we ask today guide us to the answers we'll need tomorrow!

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Gene Editing and CRISPR This chapter introduces the concept of gene editing, focusing on the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. It raises the question of whether the ability to perfect genetic characteristics is purely science fiction or a present reality. The chapter references the controversial case of Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who claimed to have created the first gene-edited babies using CRISPR in 2018, sparking global ethical debates.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Case of Lulu and Nana The chapter titled "Case of Lulu and Nana" discusses an experiment involving the genetic editing of embryos. A scientist claimed to have edited out a part of the DNA that was passed from the HIV positive father to ensure the babies would have resistance to the virus. This announcement was unexpected and met with skepticism by the scientific community, as such claims are subject to intense scrutiny and there is extensive material available to potentially disprove false claims.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Types of Gene Editing The chapter discusses the controversy surrounding germline gene editing, particularly through the use of CRISPR technology. The focus is on the ethical and safety concerns that arise when editing the genes of embryos, as opposed to editing genes in a lab setting. The chapter references an incident in China where embryo editing took place and includes insights from Neville Sanjana, a scientist at the New York Genome Center and NYU, who works with CRISPR technologies.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Understanding CRISPR-Cas9 The chapter delves into the concept of CRISPR-Cas9, highlighting the significant difference between somatic editing and germline editing. It explains that somatic editing affects only the individual organism, such as a plant or animal, and does not pass the modifications to the next generation. In contrast, germline editing involves modifying sperm or egg cells, leading to heritable genetic changes that are passed down to subsequent generations, potentially causing lasting impacts. The chapter raises important ethical and scientific considerations surrounding the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
• 02:00 - 03:00: CRISPR Mechanism The chapter 'CRISPR Mechanism' explains that CRISPR and Cas9 are DNA editors that occur naturally rather than being human-made. They function as DNA modifying systems with origins rooted in nature. Notably, CRISPR systems and Cas9 proteins are naturally existing components that play a crucial role in the bacterial immune system, protecting bacteria from viruses by editing their DNA.
• 03:00 - 04:30: Applications Beyond Designer Babies This chapter discusses the revolutionary impact of CRISPR technology in gene editing beyond its application for 'designer babies'. CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, consists of two main components: the Cas9 protein, which functions like scissors to cut the DNA, and a guide RNA that identifies the exact part of DNA to be edited. In the past decade, scientists have discovered numerous applications for CRISPR, advancing its use far beyond the initial prospects.
• 04:30 - 06:00: Ethical Considerations and Conclusion The chapter discusses the process of gene editing, focusing on the use of CRISPR technology. It entails identifying a DNA sequence to be edited, creating guide RNA to recognize and guide the Cas9 protein to the target DNA, where it cuts the sequence. Post-cut, scientists can delete, modify, or insert new DNA sequences, raising ethical considerations and concluding the discourse on responsible use.

CRISPR: The science behind gene-edited 'designer babies' Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 genetics what can it mean the ability to perfect the physical and mental characteristics of every unborn child it's the stuff of science fiction the wild imaginings of hollywood films or is it in late 2018 chinese scientist jean cue her shocked the world claiming to have created the first ever gene edited babies twin girls named lulu and nana using a tool called crispr cast 9. right after we send her husband's burn into
• 00:30 - 01:00 her egg we're also sending a little bit of protein and instruction for a gym surgery hus said he had edited out a part of their dna passed on from their hiv positive father this was to ensure the babies were born with a resistance to the virus the announcement was met with surprise and skepticism from the scientific community anything like this you're gonna get caught because there's a there's just so much material that you
• 01:00 - 01:30 don't know that's going on that it it's dangerous and it's unethical so that's why today there's such a tumultuous response against germline gene editing it's that term germline editing that makes crispr controversial there's a distinct difference between editing embryos which is what happened in china and editing genes in a lab neville sanjana a scientist at the new york genome center and nyu works with crispr technologies and he explains the
• 01:30 - 02:00 difference somatic editing are things you do in one organism that is only in that organism whether it be a plant or an animal whatever but germline editing is is much more serious stuff because that when you edit say the sperm or the egg cells that's something that's now a heritable mutation that's that's passed down to every cell in the next generation and potentially for many generations after it so what exactly is christopher cast9
• 02:00 - 02:30 at its heart um crispr and cas9 are our dna editors their dna modifying systems crispr wasn't created by humans it occurs naturally one i think incredible thing that to know about crispr systems and cast nine is that they weren't just created in a lab they're actually naturally existing proteins and the natural role of cas9 and crispr systems in nature is a bacterial immune system it was actually
• 02:30 - 03:00 less than a decade ago scientists realized the immense applications of crispr for gene editing crispr stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats it has two components that make it what it is the cas9 protein which cuts the dna essentially acting as the scissors and a guide rna which is the brains of the operation recognizing what dna needs to be edited to use the crispr tool scientists first
• 03:00 - 03:30 identify the sequence of dna that they want to edit then create a specific guide rna to recognize that piece of dna the rna is placed inside the cutting tool the cas9 protein this is then introduced into the cells it locates the target sequence that the rna has been designed to recognize and then cuts the dna once the cut is made scientists can delete modify or insert entirely new dna sequences okay so that still seems a bit
• 03:30 - 04:00 complex and you're probably thinking i really don't understand what that means think of it like editing a document you find the errors or the words you don't want you highlight them and remove or replace those words that's essentially what crispr does in dna and how it was used to edit the embryos in china crispr it's so useful i mean scientists have been trying to introduce you know changes into the dna in order to understand the function of genes in order to understand the function of the bits of dna in between the genes for years and
• 04:00 - 04:30 you know we've been there's been techniques to do that but this allows really accurate changes to be done very quickly crispr is being used in many different ways that don't involve making designer babies it's used in everything from creating healthier and stronger crops like wheat to finding drugs that may work best to treat a specific cancer so we have a quite a new technology at the sanger institute where we take tissue from people with cancer so we take a bit of the cancer tissue and
• 04:30 - 05:00 we're actually able to grow it in culture and then what we do is we can treat these these cells from the patient with crispr cas9 and we can basically work out what um which g which genes are involved with the cancer of that particular patient so while crispr has opened up a whole new realm of possibility when it comes to gene editing experts agree that this doesn't mean we will see designer babies with hand-picked eye colors or resistance to cancer anytime soon it's not going to be that easy to make someone super strong
• 05:00 - 05:30 or give them superhuman eyesight these are complex genetic traits and we don't fully understand them the scientists who created the crispr babies has largely been condemned for his use of germline editing he's lost his job and chyna has taken steps to prevent this from happening again but there is no denying it has opened up a conversation about crispr as a gene editing tool i think what's really interesting is this sort of ethical debate that's now happening
• 05:30 - 06:00 and i think there's a really i think while what happened in china was irresponsible in the way it was done i think on the other hand you know it we are now having a conversation and i think it's an important conversation to have in a society where success is determined by science so while science fiction has become reality we aren't likely to see hollywood's version of designer babies in the foreseeable future but an important debate on ethics and how far is too far has now begun as
• 06:00 - 06:30 scientists continue to push the limits of innovation using crispr to better human life the world over hey thanks for watching global news if you enjoyed what you saw please like the video and you can also hit the subscribe button on your screen to make sure that you get all the latest international news and the best trending video