Genetic Engineering: Gene Drive

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Only in the past few decades, numerous advances have contributed to a transformation in the field of genetic engineering. At this rate of development, scientists predict it will not be long until they have the means to engineer humans to acquire desired traits. As a method of improving healthcare and restoring endangered animals, genetic engineering is evidently beneficial. However, bBehind the milestones flaunted in the news headlines, however, researchers and scientists have encountered hidden difficulties that have madke continuing this research precarious. Faced with backlash, researchers often see opponents urging the government to implement regulations. Genetic engineering, a process of deliberately altering genetic sequences typically …show more content…

“A revolutionary technology known as "gene drive," which for the first time gives humans the power to alter or perhaps eliminate entire populations of organisms in the wild, has stirred both excitement and fear since scientists proposed a means to construct it two years ago. Scientists dream of deploying gene drive, for example, to wipe out malaria-carrying mosquitoes that cause the deaths of 300,000 African children each year, or invasive rodents that damage island ecosystems.” This gene drive technique is an effective way to manage animal populations by transferring a desired gene to all of an individual's progeny. This anomaly occurs in nature and the Crispr system helps channel this circumstance and spreading it among wild animals. The prospect of reducing human suffering and ecological damage is enough to commit attention to the gene drive, which shows great promise. Research dedicated to the consequences of the implementation of gene drives have not been performed. However, the approval of subsequent research will incentivize additional funding and consideration for the chance the gene drive will be implemented. Kevin M. Esvelt theorized that Crispr could be used to preserve endangered species by reducing the population of invasive animals. Using genetic engineering, doctors have treated a terminal brain disease, an accomplishment many believed to be impossible. The disease is adrenoleukodystrophy/ALD, a inherited mutated gene which kills nerve cells, destroying children's ability to walk or talk, causing them to die within five years. Genetic engineering so far has been widely successful, and has not shown any negative effects. It may seem easy to protest gene editing without thoroughly researching it, there are unfortunate people who urgently need this gene therapy to cure or withhold the growth of a deadly disease, so genetic engineering could be the