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Gene Editing

Gene Editing
Gene Editing

This is the last days of the presidency of former US President Barack Obama. At that time, the technique of gene editing was newly discovered. In those days, researchers were very hopeful that it would help with many hereditary diseases. It will be possible to cure deadly diseases. Although experts are continuing to experiment with this technique even today. However, security experts have been raising concerns about this from day one. He says if the technique falls into the hands of terrorists, they will be able to make biological weapons and could pose a serious threat to world peace.

This is the last days of the presidency of former US President Barack Obama. At that time, the technique of gene editing was newly discovered. In those days, researchers were very hopeful that it would help with many hereditary diseases. It will be possible to cure deadly diseases. Although experts are continuing to experiment with this technique even today. However, security experts have been raising concerns about this from day one. He says if the technique falls into the hands of terrorists, they will be able to make biological weapons and could pose a serious threat to world peace.

Piers Millet, Obama’s scientific adviser, warned the Obama administration that the technology could be used by terrorists and that President-elect Donald Trump should be briefed on it. They should be made aware of the gene editing techniques of CRISPR, gene therapy and synthetic DNA preparation and its implications and should also be informed about the risks if this technology falls into the hands of terrorists.

Piers Millet, a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) and a bioterrorist at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., sent a letter to President Obama at the time, saying that A new bio-defense strategy should be formulated in the next six months. The letter said that a strategy was formulated in this regard in 2009, but it could not be implemented due to non-cooperation of the concerned departments. The letter also called on Congress to set up a دو 2 billion fund for public health emergencies to respond more effectively to emerging biotechnologies. It should be noted that the US government has been focusing on bio-defense for three decades. In this regard, anthrax, Ebola and smallpox have been identified as a threat to the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture. The US government is providing full facilities to researchers in the field of pathogens and experiments are underway. Are

There were also reports at the time that researchers in the United States were continuing to experiment with how to make the influenza virus more dangerous. However, PCAST ​​members at the time said that the rapid development in the field of biotechnology had reversed the approach adopted in the past and now a new strategy was needed to address these threats. Council members said the development of synthetic DNA, gene therapy and gene editing techniques has created opportunities to pave the way for the misuse of these techniques. For example, they can be used to change the genetic makeup of a virus or bacterium and use it to increase immunity to a disease.

Similarly, synthetic DNA can be developed in a laboratory and the DNA in living cells can be modified with the help of gene therapy. These are all ways in which terrorists can develop and use bio-weapons effectively. “If you have access to sequence data, you can do whatever you want,” said Todd Kuiken, a senior researcher in the Department of Genetic Engineering at the University of North Carolina. He said that it was important to keep a close eye on the experiences in this regard. In their letter, council members also demanded 250 million annual grant for the development of new antibiotics and antiviral drugs.

The purpose of telling this 11-year-old story here is to try to understand the dangers that man is playing in the race for scientific progress in the context of the global crisis caused by the corona virus.

Now, five years later, a statement was issued following the first international meeting on human gene editing in December 2015, in which the organizers of the meeting unanimously stated that the birth of genetically modified children The process will be considered irresponsible until it is assured that the sofa will be safe. However, the announcement did not bring much benefit. They were successful in having children. In addition, many groups are using this technology to improve human beings.

Following this development, a few experts specializing in gene modification (some of whom signed the 2015 statement) banned all human crime line modification, that is, hereditary modification of sperm or egg cells. In a letter published in the scientific research journal Nature, experts from seven different countries (including Emmanuel Charpanter, Eric Lander and Feng Zheng) and their colleagues, who have been instrumental in the development of Crisper technology (Included) demanded a ban on amending the humanitarian crime line until an international agreement is reached. According to him, the five-year term is appropriate, and the US National Institutes of Health also supported this demand.

The scientists at the time expressed the hope that a voluntary global ban would prevent any unforeseen and unwelcome move by a scientist like Jian. “There will be time to consider scientific, medical, social and ethical issues,” he said. He added that it was possible that the whole world would come to the conclusion that the amendment to the crime line should be avoided.

According to the signatories to the letter, research on the crime line should be allowed only if there is no intention to produce fetuses and live babies. There should also be no objection to somatic cells (in which changes will not be inherited), provided that the participating adults have given informed consent. Under no circumstances should genetic superiority be allowed at this time, and no clinical application should be run until individual and overall long-term outcomes are clear.

Now, we come to the part where we talk about the middle ground. The damage to the CCR5 gene, which Dan is trying to protect in children, has led to more viral infections and deaths in a few viral infections. Generations from can also be affected in unexpected ways. Experts say it would be foolish to try to change all of humanity based on our current knowledge.

It was stated at the time that the proposed temporary ban and the global framework would be implemented only on a voluntary basis. This meant that the ban would not be able to deter unsuspecting scientists. At the time, experts said that a complete ban would be a tough decision, and they hoped that their proposal would at least thwart intentions to completely change the human race.

According to reports from China five years ago, after the experiments of Chinese scientists, the Chinese Ministry of Health was also trying to create obstacles in the way of genetic modification. Must seek permission from the authorities before attempting to take such a dangerous step as amending the crime line.

This is December 30, 2019. The Chinese scientist who tampered with gene editing was sentenced by a court to three years in prison and banned from working for the rest of his life. Jian Qi, an assistant professor at China’s Southern University of Science and Technology, claimed in November 2018 that he had performed genetic editing before the twins were born and had protected them from HIV. Experts around the world called it extremely frightening and expressed their serious concerns about the research.

Professor Jian said the experiment used the super-technique used to edit human genes, and scientists hoped it would help improve human life in the future and prevent hereditary diseases. Jian’s own university rejected his research and called on the government to punish the researcher. Earlier, Jian Qi was fined 3 million. The court ruled that after the experience of Jian and his team, there was a strong reaction from all over the world, after which all The people were in hiding. Infectious diseases such as AIDS can spread rapidly if tampered with by gene editing.

Good side

A brand new gene editing technique is being used in many countries, including the United States, to save lives. In 2015, a girl named Leila underwent a gene-editing technique for immune cells. The girl has recovered from leukemia, which could have killed her. Since its inception, many countries around the world have been working on gene editing. This treatment is very patient and costly. Of these, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspended Short Pelindromic Repetitions) is the most reliable. This process involves modifying the gene that causes a disease. DNA Edit Scientists in China are working to treat cancer by “silencing” the PD1 gene. In the first stage, the cells are taken and the relevant gene is sealed and the converted cells are re-injected into the body through an injection. In this way, the cancerous cells do not get a chance to flourish.

A similar treatment is being tested in the United States. PD1 and two other genes will also be inactivated. It has also been shown to help treat some types of cancerous tumors, such as leukemia. But this process is not useful for solid apostles. Experts are using a combination of two key methods. If this works well, it will take some time to see if the genome mutation process is 100% secure. If used successfully, it can be used for many ailments including eye diseases.

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