Gene editing, which is also known as genome editing, involves the insertion, deletion, or replacement of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in a gene.

Several different methods that can be used to edit genes.

1) Zinc finger nuclease technology: Has been used longer than any other gene-editing method. First developed in the 1990s, this approach involves the binding of a pair of ZFNs to a DNA target.

2) TALEN (transcription activator-like effectors nuclease) Developed in 2009 .TALENs are produced by a common type of plant bacteria. Like ZFNs, TALENs bind to and cut targeted DNA sequences. A key advantage the TALEN gene-editing method holds over ZFN is that engineering TALENs is simpler than using ZFNs.

3) CRISPR (the biggest development in gene editing was the discovery of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs). The CRISPR method uses bacterial enzymes to target and cut specific sections of DNA. CRISPR is simpler and cheaper than earlier gene-editing methods.

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Pros about Gene editing:

Cancer Therapeutics: New immune therapies can be developed using CRISPR to treat cancer. Scientists can genetically modify T-cells using CRISPR to locate and kill cancer cells.

Curing Genetic Diseases: CRISPR technology can eliminate the genes that cause genetic diseases such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis. Given that the scientific community has already mapped many genes that cause the genetic disease, CRISPR could be used to cure faulty genes that cause genetic diseases.

Drug Research: Scientists are predicting that CRISPR could potentially speed up the drug discovery process given the technology is relatively cheap, precise and simple to use. Some of the drug makers in the world are already incorporating CRISPR technology in their drug research and discovery phase.

Pest Resilient Crops: According to Jennifer Doudna, CRISPR pioneer, genome editing could address pest and nutrition challenges facing agriculture, especially in light of climate change and rapid population growth.

Cons about gene editing

• Changes to the Germ-line Cells: This  could potentially lead to  development of designer babies  which would create divisions in society as designer baby will have more genetic advantage  over the other

• Bio Weapons: The former U.S. director of national intelligence listed “genome editing” among six threats in the section on weapons of mass destruction in 2016. The technology can be used to genetically modify bacteria or viruses to wage biological attacks against humans.

• Unknown diseases  to human : There  is a rising fear that  genome editing can cause  different type of diseases still unknown to human

Should Gene editing be allowed

Gene editing should be encouraged to enhance the advancements in field of science and improve the standard of living of people E.g.: CRISPR technology is targeting to treat the rare disease caused by mutation of one gene. At the same time a common guidelines need to be developed by international community’s which set the guidelines of what risks are acceptable and what are not.

Conclusion

Like every new technology gene editing has two sides the need is to encourage the positive side while being cautious about negatives.