Genetically Modified Organisms: From Cloning to Designer Babies

Abstract

From cloning to designer babies, genetic engineering in the field of biotechnology has rapidly developed, to the point where ethical debates among scientists and the media have been sparked. Cloning is a process in genetic engineering in which an exact genetic replica of a cell, tissue, or organism is produced with the same DNA as the original. Clones can be manufactured in a lab through embryonic twinning or somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). In 1996, Scottish scientists successfully cloned the first animal using SCNT; a sheep named Dolly. Designer babies are babies whose DNA has been modified either to eradicate certain genes which produce unfavorable traits such as genetic diseases, or to insert certain genes which produce favorable traits such as enhanced intelligence. Designer babies can be produced through preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) or through CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Using PGT, embryos are created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and after developing, PGT can be performed, allowing embryos that carry desired traits to be selected and transferred into the mother’s uterus. CRISPR-Cas9 works like molecular scissors, allowing genes to be inserted, removed, or replaced. In 2018, Chinese biophysicist Dr. He Jiankui created the world’s first genetically modified humans (twins named Lulu and Nana) by disabling the CCR5 gene to make the twins HIV immune. Major ethical questions are raised with these processes; do they cross ethical boundaries? What exactly are these boundaries? This gray area of bioethics makes it challenging to determine what is ethical and what is not.