This is my project abstract. There has long been a desire for genetic enhancement in order to cure genetics diseases or alter the physical appearance of someone. With modern gene editing tools it is now possible to treat disease as well as select for cosmetic enhancements. However, with the ability to alter a person’s genetic makeup, comes the question if it’s considered ethical to be changing what was naturally chosen. Scientists have discovered that part of some bacterial immune systems have CRISPRs, which are are specialized stretches of DNA. A specific protein associated with this system is Cas9, an RNA-guided DNA endonuclease that can cut foreign DNA at specific sites. Together utilizing CRISPR and the Cas9 enzyme, genome engineering is now possible. With this new biotechnology, many scientists are delaying the use of gene editing in humans for a multitude of ethical concerns. For our project we discuss the ethics and applications behind human genomic engineering, specifically when used to treat inherited medical diseases or for cosmetic enhancements. To measure the University of Massachusetts Amherst student’s public opinion a mass survey was distributed. We found that gene editing for disease prevention was considered ethical while gene editing for cosmetics was not.
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