Answer 2 for DNP 810 Choose a news story, published within last 2 years, about genetic or genomic technology
Genetic technology advances have a significant clinical impact and signify that genetic testing perceptions must change. Genomic testing brings a more significant diagnostic opportunity for diagnosis alongside providing substantial predictions regarding future diagnoses. However, should therein reside an increased chance of uncertain or unexpected findings, many of which may impact multiple members of a person’s family (Zhang et al., 2015). The availability of treatment options regarding genetic technology is shifting and evolving, implicative of previously untreated disorders. Furthermore, the point of access to testing is changing with increasing provision direct to the consumer outside the formal healthcare setting (Zhang et al., 2015).
The latest innovation in genetic engineering is the CRISPR-Cas9, the gene editing tool that allows researchers to cut DNA and paste in their chosen genetic material, creating genetically modified organisms. With other versions of CRISPR, scientists can manipulate genes in more precise ways, such as adding a new segment of DNA or editing single DNA letters (Moon et al., 2019). Scientists have also used CRISPR to detect specific targets, such as DNA from cancer-causing viruses and RNA from cancer cells. Scientists study CRISPR for many conditions, including high cholesterol, HIV, and Huntington’s disease. First and foremost, no federal legislation bans protocols or places restrictions on experiments that manipulate human DNA (Moon et al., 2019). Therefore, CRISPR is legal in the US. The FDA CRISPR regulating these trials significantly impacts diagnostics and therapeutics, allowing medicine to become more personalized (Memi et al., 2018). She said that treatments for cancer and blood disorders are furthest along because of how CRISPR is performed. “The most tested medical applications of CRISPR have been for cancer (Memi et al., 2018).
Some of the controversial potential dangers of CRISPR include a lab experiment to fix defective DNA in human embryos, which demonstrates potential errors with genealogical editing and why leading scientists say it is too unsafe to try (Moon et al., 2019). In more than half of the cases, the editing caused unintended changes, such as the loss of an entire chromosome or big chunks (Moon et al., 2019). His adverse effects may include the double-strand DNA breaks introduced during CRISPR editing, which could result in chromothripsis, a highly damaging form of genomic rearrangement resulting from the shattering of individual chromosomes, and the subsequent rejoining of the pieces in a random order (Moon et al., 2019). With the rapid application of CRISPR/Cas in clinical research, it is essential to consider the ethical implications of such advances (Memi et al., 2018). Pertinent issues include accessibility and cost, the need for controlled clinical trials with an excellent review, and policies for compassionate use. CRISPR is an ethical game-changer essentially because it changes the debate landscape. It reduces specific ethical concerns while significantly heightening others (Memi et al., 2018).
References
Memi, F., Ntokou, A., & Papangeli, I. (2018, December). CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing: Research technologies, clinical applications and ethical considerations. In Seminars in perinatology (Vol. 42, No. 8, pp. 487-500). WB Saunders.
Moon, S. B., Kim, D. Y., Ko, J. H., & Kim, Y. S. (2019). Recent advances in the CRISPR genome editing tool set. Experimental & molecular medicine, 51(11), 1-11.
