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Case/Article Review 3


​You have two minutes to read the enclosed article, and you will subsequently be asked a range of questions by the interviewer. You may wish to make notes, however please note you will not be allowed to refer to your notes or the article during the discussion.

​​
‘’Scientists have modified human embryos to remove genetic mutations that cause heart failure in otherwise healthy young people in a landmark demonstration of the controversial procedure.
 
It is the first time that human embryos have had their genomes edited outside China, where researchers have performed a handful of small studies to see whether the approach could prevent inherited diseases from being passed on from one generation to the next.
 
While none of the research so far has created babies from modified embryos, a move that would be illegal in many countries, the work represents a milestone in scientists’ efforts to master the technique and brings the prospect of human clinical trials one step closer.
 
The work focused on an inherited form of heart disease, but scientists believe the same approach could work for other conditions caused by single gene mutations, such as cystic fibrosis and certain kinds of breast cancer.
 
“This embryo gene correction method, if proven safe, can potentially be used to prevent transmission of genetic disease to future generations,” said Paula Amato, a fertility specialist involved in the US-Korean study at Oregon Health and Science University.
 
The scientists used a powerful gene editing tool called Crispr-Cas9 to fix mutations in embryos made with the sperm of a man who inherited a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. The disease, which leads to a thickening of the heart’s muscular wall, affects one in 500 people and is a common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young people.’’
 
 (Adapted from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/02/deadly-gene-mutations-removed-from-human-embryos-in-landmark-study)
​
 Outline the main issues raised.
​

Average Candidate Response
This article raised the concern of designer babies, where individuals can choose what characteristics they would like in their offspring. This is potentially dangerous and highly unethical, and as such should not be encouraged.

​Excellent Candidate Response
This article raises a number of ethical issues ranging from the prospect of designer babies to narrowing of the gene pool.
 
Whilst the intentions of the researchers are to reduce transmission of congenital cardiac conditions such as HOCM, gene modification may lead to a slippery slope effect with some individuals choosing to use the same technology for the creation of possibly designer babies with favourable appearance and intelligence characteristics.
 
The net effect of such research may result in the narrowing of the gene pool, as individuals would tend to choose the same characteristics and ‘disease free genes’. The long-term effect of reduced variation in the gene pool may well be detrimental.
 
An additional concern regarding this article is its short term analysis. Whilst the technology has successfully changed the DNA in the majority of tested samples, this does not necessarily mean that the long term product/individual will be disease free. In other similar studies, the long term outcomes have shown more mutations and poorer outcomes.

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