Gene editing, the next forefront of science. A relatively new topic with loads of controversy. Today, in China, the first step in this technology has happened. 2 girls named Lulu and Nana have been born with edited genes. Scientist He Jankui is the one behind this. The father of the babies had HIV so what the scientist did is he edited the genes of the babies so that they don’t contract HIV. This is a great thing but is it right to do? There is a lot of controversy behind this. Jankui did this with no supervision and permission. Although this is for a good purpose this same technology can be used for such bad things.

Imagine a world full of designer babies. Babies who are made like how the parents want them to be made. Make all babies look the same. Make a disease-free elite who pass the disease on to others. Soldiers made specifically for fighting in a war. Chosen traits instead of natural ones. This is a very controversial topic. Have we started to act like god, are we crossing the ethical boundary, only time can tell.

For now, this technology is still in its beginning stages. We have just begun to experiment. Jankui is suspended currently from his university for performing this experiment without any permission or supervision. Human experimentation is always a scary thing. We don’t know if it will go amazingly well, or terribly wrong.

We have just edited the genes of 2 twins so that they cannot contract a deadly disease. We have done a good thing, but this first step can potentially lead to something terribly wrong. A world full of medical monstrosities beyond our imagination. We just need another psychopath with this technology to do some very bad things. If you want some more information about He Jankui’s endeavor you can learn more here.