Photo: Sharon McCutcheon / Unsplash

On November 26, 2018, a Chinese biologist at Southern University of Science and Technology, He Jiankui, in an interview with the Associated Press in Hong Kong, claimed that his laboratory had used a genetic editing technique to modify a gene called CCR5 of fertilized eggs of at least seven couples. In addition, a pair of twins were born this month. According to He, this kind of operation can make these children have the natural immunity to AIDS, which is considered as a very important ability in today’s world.

This day is destined to be enshrined in human history. The first and second human beings whose gene had been artificially modified have come to this world when people are still mentally unprepared.

However, this technology is still full of unknown risks. It is not only unscientific but also immoral to try high-risk research on human bodies with little or no health benefits, which is a violation of human dignity and scientific spirit.

Photo: Heather Mount / Unsplash

First, on the scientific level, according to the Associated Press, the mother of twins is not AIDS patient at all. Although their father is HIV carrier, his condition has been well controlled after long-term treatment. In this case, as long as the mother pays attention to protective measures during pregnancy, the child will not be infected with HIV at all. In other words, the benefits of this gene-editing operation are few and even negligible.

On the other hand, the risk of this operation is astronomical! Gene-editing technology is a cutting-edge biological technology on the way of booming and rapidly advancing, which means there still exist many entrenched risks to be solved. The main risk is that it is difficult to avoid the so-called “off-target” effect when this technology is applied, which can easily destroy the unrelated normal genes in the human body, suspiciously leading to very serious genetic diseases that are difficult to accurately predict.

To make matters worse, in this incident, it is very likely that the scientists’ genetic modification of the fertilized egg will enter all the cells of the babies, including their germ cells. In other words, the results of this genetic editing will not only affect these children, but also their future generations! The modified genes carried by these children who have been genetically edited will slowly integrate into the entire human population and become part of the human gene pool, which apparently include genes that may have been accidentally injured by “off-target” effect! From this perspective, the worst risk of this genetic editing operation is uncontrollable. And it may take many years and many generations for humans to discover the consequences.

In addition to scientific considerations, society will also face deeper concerns about the future fate of human species. The promotion of gene-editing technology from “treatment” to “prevention” has greatly extended the scope of application of this technology. An obvious confusion is: Where is the application boundary of gene-editing technology? Once the boundaries between “treatment” and “prevention” are broken, the ones between “prevention” and “improvement” will become more blurred.

Photo: Lucas Vasques / Unsplash

What if parents want their child to get more muscle, higher height or blonde hair? Further, what if they want a child with a high IQ, strong language and analytical skills, and leadership? At that time, will the promotion of genetic editing technology lead humanity off the cliff into darkness for all eternity? Will it destroy the diversity of the human gene pool? Will it make humans become the same without any personal features? More importantly, will it shape eternal inequality?

If some children receive the “improvement” by genetic editing technology, they may have a competitive advantage in everything from appearance to intelligence. More importantly, these advantages have also been written into the genome and can be inherited. In this way, other children may never be able to break the class barrier.

Is genetic editing, a new technology that comes with flowers and applause from the day of its birth, sketching a path to dark hell? Historical experience tells humans that people’s understanding and transformation of themselves and the world may have been temporarily stagnant, but never been reversed.

In general, powerful gene-editing techniques entering the human world, helping people overcome their illnesses and even making them healthier, may all be unstoppable historical trends. But where is the boundary of this technology? Does this technology open Pandora’s Box, or Aladdin’s lamp? At this very moment that is destined to be remembered for all eternity, humans should really give it some thought.

Shiming Shen