In this book anthropologist Eben Kirksey updates us on cutting edge genetic manipulation that could change the human race.
Modern advances in gene therapy stem from the work of Dr. Jennifer Doudna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Nobel prize winners who found a way to edit DNA.
Jennifer Doudna (left) and Emmanuelle Charpentier
In June 2012 the scientists demonstrated that a piece of genetic material called CRISPR-Cas9 can be customized to snip a DNA sequence in a specific place, altering the DNA of a living organism. CRISPR-Cas9 works by unwinding part of the DNA double helix into two single strands. CRISPR then holds everything in place while Cas9 makes two cuts, producing a break in both strands of DNA. New DNA can then be inserted at the cuts.
Manipulating DNA is tricky, and the procedure can have unwanted consequences. For example, when CRISPR breaks a segment of a cell's DNA, the cell's attempts to repair the damage could result in nonsense sequences of nucleotides. Dr. Ashley Fischer, who teaches a gene editing course, observes, "a CRISPR molecule [could] wreak havoc, shredding your DNA into bits and pieces. Many of your genes would be destroyed and your cells would likely die."
Nevertheless, once CRISPR was unveiled, it was impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Doudna predicted that CRISPR would be used to direct the evolution of our species, writing: "We possess the ability to edit not only the DNA of every living human but also the DNA of future generations."
One aim of genetic manipulation might be to cure diseases like sickle cell anemia and hemophilia, which can be attributed to known genes.
Another aim might be to change things like eye color and hair color, whose genetic basis is also relatively well understood. As scientists learn more and more about the human genome, though, genetic manipulation might be used to make more profound changes.
British scientist Robin Lovell-Badge suggests that people might want to modify genes so their children have perfect pitch; enhanced athletic abilities; resistance to infectious diseases; higher intelligence; etc.
Robin Lovell-Badge
Some military leaders dream of engineering soldiers with enhanced endurance, speed, and muscle mass.
Genetically modified humans for a future super soldier army
Carl June, director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Penn Medicine - who has already developed a gene therapy for leukemia - hopes to treat patients with advanced tumors that are not currently curable with known and approved therapies.
Carl June
Molecular biologist George Church - who has long aspired to bring wooly mammoths back from the dead - believes genome engineering can be used to give humans extra-strong bones; to allow people to hold their breath for a long time under water; and to extend life expectancy....maybe even allow humans to achieve immortality. Church also thinks its possible to create resistance to pathogens by preventing the entry of viruses into cells, not only in humans but also in agricultural plants and animals.
George Church
Some people speculate about the feasibility of using gene therapy to change gender; imbue people with fruit smells; increase physical attractiveness; enhance fertility; change racial characteristics; and change skin color.
Genetic engineering might be used to increase physical attractiveness
Others think humans might be altered so they can see in the ultraviolet or infrared spectrum; detect electromagnetic fields; be able to digest plants that aren't currently edible; perform photosynthesis; glow green (for discos); or exhibit other variations.
Genetic engineering might be used to produce green skin that photosynthesizes (or looks good in discos)
Lovell-Badge observes, "The mere fact that we are raising these suggestions does not mean that they should be done."
A potential problem of gene manipulation is that scientists don't completely understand what they're tinkering with. The genes for SOME traits are well understood but researchers have found that many characteristics are controlled by a combination of genes, and traits like mental illness or intelligence - which would be prime targets for gene manipulation - are still a puzzle to scientists. Moreover, 'enhancements' often come with serious health risks, like smaller internal organs or other unwanted side effects.
Another problem related to gene manipulation is access. Gene therapy clinics are financed by venture capitalists looking for profit, so the procedures are very expensive. This means the wealthy - mostly rich white people - have more access than others, a factor that deepens racial and economic disparities. Kirksey notes, "Profit-driven ventures in research and medicine [are] producing a new era of dramatic medical inequality."
Gene therapy is expensive
There's also controversy about using gene therapy to weed out (what many consider) disabilities. Professor Ruha Benjamin notes that "technological innovation and social inequality often go hand in hand." She observes that "some conditions deemed medical problems by doctors are embraced as diversity by differently abled people."
Ruha Benjamin
Biochemist Gregor Wolbring, who uses a wheelchair, would not appreciate being 'cured.' Wolbring "is critical of entrepreneurs and scientists who champion gene therapies as miracle cures or as transformative tools of human enhancement." Wolbring fears gene manipulation will strip humanity of character and biological diversity. Referring to differently abled people, the biochemist says "You can understand people like me as part of human variation, or you can see us as being impaired and eliminate us from the population." Wolbring thinks this would be wrong, especially since differently abled people might have advantages for space travel and other future technologies.
Gregor Wolbring with his students
Thus, when speaking about gene therapy, many questions arise: "Who is gaining access to cutting-edge genetic medicine? Are there creative ways to democratize the field? Should parents be allowed to choose the genetic makeup of their children? How much can we actually change about the human condition by tinkering with DNA?"
Kirksey writes, "As a cultural anthropologist, I have often found myself opposing biologists in debates about human nature. My goal has been to map the broader impacts of genetic engineering for humanity. Using an anthropological lens, I examined new forms of power as scientists, corporate lobbyists, medical doctors, and biotechnology entrepreneurs worked to redesign life itself."
Author Eben Kirksey speaking at a genetic engineering conference
Kirksey describes a variety of experiments in which people manipulated human DNA, many of them aimed at curing HIV-AIDS. One of the best known experiments was performed by Chinese biophysics researcher Jiankui He, who went to graduate school in the United States, then did his experiments in China.
Jiankui He
Having HIV-AIDS makes life especially difficult in China, where people with the virus experience extreme discrimination. For that reason, preventing AIDS would be extremely desirable there. Dr. He hoped to help with the cause (and make a lot of money).
Kirksey explains Dr. He's experiments in detail, but in a nutshell:
Dr. He offered free experimental fertility treatments (in vitro fertilization) to couples with an HIV-positive man and an HIV-negative woman. Several couples consented to participate in Dr. He's research, and agreed that gene therapy could be used on their embryos, to reduce the children's' risk of becoming infected with HIV. Dr. He's goal was to destroy the embryos' CCR5 gene, which facilitates the entrance of HIV viruses into cells. In other words, cells without CCR5 genes are 'immune' to the AIDS virus.
In vitro fertilization clinic
The women in the experiment had their eggs removed and fertilized with their husbands' sperm. Dr. He then injected CRISPR-Cas9 into the eggs right after fertilization. If the genetic surgery was successful - and the CCR5 gene was destroyed - the embryo(s) were implanted in their mother's womb.
CRISPR is injected into fertilized egg
In October 2018 this experiment resulted in the birth of two CRISPR babies, Lulu and Nana.
CRISPR babies Lulu and Nana
Kirksey notes, "Dr. He's story is a gateway into a much bigger enterprise: the tale of CRISPR and the emergence of genetic medicine." Experiments along this line were already well under way in England, the United States and China - the aim being to develop medical applications of genetic surgery for adults. Kirksey goes on to say, "Gene therapy research is proceeding apace, and society will have to deal with the practicality, morality, and consequences of proceeding with this kind of medicine."
Genetic research has been proceeding apace
The author traveled to a number of laboratories, clinics, and conferences to research the book, and interviewed scientists, doctors, professors, sociologists, artists, disabled scholars, chronically ill patients, hackers, and others - who have a diversity of opinions about humanity and genetic engineering. Kirksey also visited Xinhua County, where Jiankui He grew up, and provides a mini-biography of the scientist.
A village in Xinhua County
Kirksey has a casual travelogue-type approach to his writing, and intersperses the genetic engineering parts of his story with snippets about his travels; hotels; accommodations; meals; conversations; and so on. I liked the journal-like style of the narrative, which added interest to the book (for me). For instance, Kirksey mentions that the lobby of Hong Kong's Le Méridien Cyberport Hotel has artwork depicting "a gorilla peeking out of an orange, smoking a cigarette";
Le Méridien Cyberport Hotel, Hong Kong
That he dined on "Korean BBQ followed by papaya and snow fungus cold soup" and ate "roast chicken, sour vegetable soup, dumplings, sautéed tofu, and sesame seed cakes";
Papaya and snow fungus cold soup
That Jay Johnson - who volunteered to become one of the world's first gene edited people in 2009 - is African American, has striking green eyes, wears a salt-and-pepper mustache, and has a subtle hoop ring in his right ear; and so forth.
Jay Johnson
Kirksey also likes to compare real world science with science fiction, and mentions Frankenstein, Blade Runner, Neuromancer, Gattaca, Wolverine, Altered Carbon, Star Wars, Terminator, Brave New World, and more. For instance, the Netflix show Stranger Things describes secret government experiments on children with unusual powers; and the X-Men movies feature beings with uncanny superpowers, who face severe persecution. Before long, the real world may begin to resemble science fiction.
On the downside, the story is a little all over the place, straying into areas that are only tangentially related to genetic engineering. Still, the book is interesting and informative, and well worth reading.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Eben Kirksey), and the publisher (St. Martin's Press) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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