Description
Your paper should address the ethical issues surrounding CRISPR and its use in germ-line editing. You MUST include the following:
- A description of the origin of CRISPR and comparison of CRISPR to the human immune system.
- A comparison of CRISPR as a mechanism for curing human diseases compared to other mechanisms we have discussed during the semester for gene therapy.
- Most scientists agree that if we have the ability to cure any disease, it would be appropriate to use gene editing of early-stage developing embryos. What are your thoughts on the 'line' that should be drawn with the potential ability to alter intelligence, athleticism, height, weight or any of the other 'designer baby' traits that might be considered? Will this create a two-tiered society of 'enhanced' vs 'normal' children? Also, for example, many people within the deaf community do not look at deafness as a disease, but rather a culture which they do not want to 'fix' by even available technology (i.e. cochlear implants that allow them to hear). Basically, address the 'slippery slope' argument regarding embryonic gene editing.
In order to fit all of this information into a 1,000 word paper, you will need to careful editing, and refrain from any repetitiveness.
Your paper should be 1,000 words. A bit longer is permissible, but shorter papers WILL NOT be accepted. The word count can be determined by selecting the “Review’ option on the taskbar, and the far-left ribbon should drop down ‘Word Count’. Formatting should be as follows:
- This is usually anywhere from 4 to 6 pages
- Font New Times Roman
- Font size 12 point
- One-inch margins
- Double line spacing
- Submitted in Microsoft Word format (.docx) or as a PDF file to the dropbox.
- There should be a separate cover sheet including your name, and a separate Reference sheet at the end of the document
- The cover sheet and Reference sheets do not count as the 1,000 word total.
Explanation & Answer
Please view explanation and answer below.
Introduction
CRISPR in gene editing
Paragraph 1
- Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) has its origin from
bacteria and archaea immune system
- Scientists first encountered CRISPR in 1987 while analyzing the genes involved in
phosphate metabolism in Escherichia coli
Paragraph 2
- Bacteria and archaea evolution has culminated in the development of CRISPR as an
immune system mechanism against viruses
- In the human adaptive immune system, specialized immune cells, B and T cells,
recognize foreign proteins and destroy pathogens and pathogen-infected cells, which is
analogous to CRISPR in prokaryotic cells
Paragraph 3
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The CRISPR technology discovery has proven to be a powerful genome-editing tool
The tool is now used in biomedical research to explore the gene and its functions (Cai
et al., 2016)
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Germ-Line Editing: CRISPR
Student Name
Institution
Course Name
Instructor Name
Date
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Germ-Line Editing: CRISPR
Origin of CRISPR
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) has its origin from
bacteria and archaea immune system. Scientists first encountered CRISPR in 1987 while
analyzing the genes involved in phosphate metabolism in Escherichia coli. The gene was later
discovered in other bacteria and halophilic archaea. The function of CRISPR remained
mysterious to scientists, especially due to the lack of sufficient DNA sequencing data as
discussed by Ishino, Krupovic & Forterre (2018). In the early 2000s, the similarity between the
spacer regions of CRISPR and sequences of bacteriophages, archaeal viruses, and plasmids
provided insight into the function of CRISPR as an immune system (Ishino, Krupovic &
Forterre, 2018). Though the discovery was underappreciated, studies showed th...
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