New tests conducted in China show that genetic engineering can make therapy for many incurable disease possible.
Researchers at the Yunnan Key Laboratory in conjunction with Nanjing Medical University have taken to genetically modified macaques monkeys with a new DNA alteration method that is being called Crispr. The positive results have shown that targeted genetic manipulation in higher primates - as well as humans - may be possible.
Genetic manipulation is nothing new. It has been successfully accomplished in mice and rats as well as human and primate cells kept in petri dishes. The difference with the Crispr method is that it is succeeding in altering the genetic code of entire animals with much more complicated than that of a rat, mouse, or individual cell groups.
The Crispr method tested on the macaques involved giving monkey embreyos a single injection of Ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is responsible for altering the genome of the embryos prior to birth. According to Wezhi Ji, coauthor of the study, the researches made changes to the following three parts of the embryos:
- Metabolism
- Immunity Development
- Gender Determination
They have said it is too early to tell if their research has yielded lasting results in the infant monkeys, but they did observe that during genetic development, there were marked changes to the embryo during its growth. They essentially altered the genetic course of the growth of these monkeys before they were born.
The ultimate goal of this research is to cure human disease. The Crispr method works differently from other genetic engineering strategies in that it can target specific areas of the animal's development while leaving others untouched. Previous attempts at genetic engineering were often random and caused cascade effects throughout the DNA of the entire system leading to mutations and unforeseen complications.
Thus far, the researchers are very positive on the outcome of their work with the macaques. “Data from this species should be very useful for curing human disease and improving human health,” said Ji.
While the potential to rid the world of genetic conditions such as alcoholism, Schizophrenia, Autism, and even auto-immune disorders, there is some concern among the scientific industry that this constitutes "playing god" and that genetic manipulation of this kind could backfire in ways that will not be apparent until later in the lives of the patients that are treated with Crispr.
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