Gene modification is here, and it's been made even easier.
New bio-technology is making gene editing easier and more accurate than ever before, but it's also raising a number of ethical questions.
Designer babies aren't coming anytime soon. We just don't understand our genetic makeup well enough, yet. But gene modification is here, and in recent years, it's been made a lot easier by a new editing system called CRISPR-Cas 9.
It's a cheap, relatively simple way essentially to change the text inside the book that is your genome. The system's been a boon to basic research into things like cancer, but are doctors paying enough attention CRISPR’s down-the-road ethical implications?
"I think, on the whole, medical education does not have enough emphasis on genetics, given the importance it is likely to play in future medical practice," said Audrey Chapman, a professor at UConn who examines medical ethics.
Chapman said today students take courses dealing with ethical questions, but they generally focus on clinical scenarios, not big-picture on big-picture issues like gene editing.
That, she said, needs to change. She also thinks genetic technology needs to be developed in a way that's equitable, to avoid a medical future filled with "haves" and "have-nots."
"The people who are likely to benefit are those that either have very high-end, so called "Cadillac" medical insurance plans, or can pay for them on their own -- and the people who cannot, get further left behind," said Chapman.
Last week's international summit, convened by the National Academy of Sciences and others, concluded a moratorium should be placed on any efforts to edit inheritable genes in humans.
Chapman said that was the right decision. Going forward, she said more attention needs to be paid by doctors and society to the growing power of genetic technology.
